$B    7M7    3fiT 


British  Black  Book 


by  an  American 


EngffLiid,  allbesfroyW  of  NaWbns. 

Germany's  wonderful  Rise  and  Success,  the 
real  Caiis^  ^r  J^glalid's  present  War. 

iThe  unhoHest^^nspiracy  in  History. 

f  r  Hoijii  soit^iqui  mal  y  pense. 

%fTm    tentacles  *  and     ink-sac   of    the    Giant 
^       Octopus  and  how  it  uses  them. 

^  The    Germi^il^iEmperor,    Lord    of    War    or 
-^     Prince  of  Peace?  ^     ^ 

^^yunnmn   atrocities  —  '*made   in    England." 

German    Militarism    or    British    Navalism, 
J  l^^which  is  the  Menace? 

Does    America    need    a    Third    War     for 
Independence.? 


The 

British  Black  Book 


by  Rudolf  Cronau 


/      NEW  YORK  1915 


Of  23 

COPYRIGHT    1915    by    RUDOLF    CRONAU 

(All  rights  reserved) 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 

America,  the  history  of  its  discovery  from  ancient  to  the 
present  times.      (2  Vol.     Leipzig,   1890-92.) 

America,  historia  de  su  descubrimiento  desde  los  tiempos 
primitivos  hasta  los  mas  modemos.  (3  Vol.  Barcelona, 
1892.) 

From  Wonderland  to  Wonderland,  sketches  of  American 
Sceneries  and  Life.      (2  Vol.     Leipzig,   1886.) 

In  the  Wild  West.     Tales  of  an  Artist.  (Braunschweig,  1  890.) 

Three  Centuries  of  German  Life  in  America.     (Berlin,  1 909.) 

Our  Wasteful  Nation.  The  Story  of  American  Prodigality  and 
the  Abuse  of  Our  National  Resources.  (New  York  1 908.) 

Illustrative  Cloud  Forms  for  the  Guidance  of  Observers  in  the 
Classification  of  Clouds.  (U.  S.  publication  No.  112. 
Washington,  D.  C,  1897.) 

Travels  in  the  Lands  of  the  Sioux  Indians.     (Leipzig,   1886.) 

Geschichte,  Wesen  und  Praxb  der  Reklame.      (Ulm,   1887.) 

Geschichte  der  Solinger  KKngenindustrie.    (Stuttgart,    1883.) 


PREfACE. 


"World*s  History  is  the  World's  Judgment.** 

The  present  war  of  the  nations,  the  most  deplorable  event 
in  history,  has  from  its  outset  disclosed  the  fact,  that  the 
opponents  of  Germany,  mainly  England,  fight  not  with  fair, 
honest  weapons,  but  take  recourse  to  the  most  despicable 
means:  slander  and  calumny. 

While  England  poses  as  the  defender  of  justice  and  right, 
as  the  champion  of  liberty  and  humanity,  as  the  benevolent 
protector  of  smaller  nations,  and  as  promoter  of  the  world's 
peace,  she  charges  the  German  nation  with  base  brutality  and 
the  most  abominable  infraction  of  international  laws.  She 
accuses  her  of  being  guided  in  all  actions  by  an  immoral  de- 
sire of  extending  her  rule  over  other  countries  of  the  globe 
and  making  the  inhabitants  thereof  slaves  of  her  selfish  aims. 

Many  well  known  British  writers,  poets  and  scholars,  among 
them  Conan  Doyle,  Rudyard  Kipling  and  H.  J.  Wells,  joined 
in  this  unworthy  campaign  and  have,  in  spite  of  their  own 
better  knowledge,  denounced  the  German  people  as  a  hord 
of  Huns,  who,  for  the  sake  of  humanity  ought  to  be  exter- 
minated. 

To  protest  against  such  wicked  warfare  is  the  duty  of  every- 
one, who  has  had  the  opportunity  of  studying  the  German 
nation,  its  beautiful  empire  and  highly  developed  culture. 
Champions  for  Germany's  cause  have  appeared  everywhere. 
And  among  the  most  fearless  defenders  of  the  truth  are 
Americans  of  Anglo-Saxon  descent.  I  name  John  W.  Burgess, 
Professor  of  American  History  and  Dean  of  Columbia  Univer- 
sity; William  R.  Shepherd,  Professor  of  History  at  the  same 
institution;  Ferdinand  Schevill,  Professor  of  History  of  the 
University  of  Chicago;  Herbert  Sanborn,  Professor  of  Philo- 
sophy of  Vanderbilt  University;  Professor  Wm.  M.  Sloane, 
Professor  of  History  at  Columbia  University;  Thomas  C.  Hall, 
Professor  at  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  of  New  York,  not 
to  forget  the  five  American  journalists,  who  created  a  sensa- 
tion by  their  splendid  "round  robin  letter"  and  made  the  first 
breach  in  the  walls  of  falsehood,  with  which  the  Allies  tried 
to  surround  the  German  nation. 


66T503 


To  join  these  fearless  paladines  of  truth,  I  am  under  double 
obligations.  First,  because  I  am  proud  of  Germany  as  of  my 
beloved  Fatherland,  where  I  spent  the  sunny  days  of  my  youth 
and  to  which  I  owe  my  education  as  well  as  many  happy  years 
amidst  her  beautiful  sceneries,  upright  men  and  noble  women. 
Secondly,  I  am  an  American  Citizen,  who,  having  the  highest 
conception  and  appreciation  of  true  American  ideals,  is  not 
blind  to  the  grave  dangers,  lurking  in  this  unholy  war  and 
threatening  our  United  States. 

When  1,  as  a  student  of  history,  support  my  arguments  with 
historical  facts,  I  do  this  in  the  conviction,  that  history  is  the 
most  trustworthy  means  of  getting  at  the  truth  concerning  the 
character  of  a  nation.  As  we  form  our  opinions  about  in- 
dividuals from  their  past  so  we  may  judge  nations  by  their 
history. 

This  book,  based  on  irrefutable  facts,  intends  to  show  the 
chief  actor  in  the  present  war,  England,  in  her  true  aspect,  in 
order  that  henceforth  all  nations  may  take  warning  and  proper 
care  in  their  political  and  commercial  dealings. 

May  truth  destroy  the  bulwarks  of  lies  built  by  the  Allies. 
And  may  the  crash  of  the  falling  walls  be  heard  around  the 
world  and  compel  nations  to  think. 

What  happened  to  other  countries  in  the  past,  what  menaces 
Germany  and  Austria  to-day,  may  threaten  to-morrow  our 
own  or  any  other  people,  whose  success  or  riches  incite  the 
envy  and  greed  of  the  "Giant  Octopus." 

As  there  have  already  been  published  by  the  warring  powers 
Blue,  Orange,  Gray,  Yellow,  Red  and  Green  Books,  and  as 
the  British  Government,  to  whitewash  itself,  produced  a  White 
Book,  I  selected  for  the  cover  of  this  book  the  only  remaining 
color:  Black,  for  the  sake  of  contrast  as  well  as  because  it  is 
the  most  fitting  for  certain  parts  of  British  history. 

RUDOLF  CRONAU. 
New  York,  1915. 


The  Giant  Octopus. 

Mariners  of  former  days  had  among  the  many  yarns,  with 
which  they  regaled  their  credulous  audiences,  a  story  of  large 
cuttlefish  or  octopus,  which  with  their  many  powerful  and  far 
reaching  arms  entangled  not  only  large  vessels,  but  even  whole 
islands,  to  capture  the  people  and  then  suck  their  blood. 

We  all  know  these  tales  were  merely  gross  exaggerations  of 
facts,  for  cuttlefish  seldom  grow  to  a  size,  as  to  become 
dangerous  to  a  swimmer.  But  there  exists  indeed  a  giant  octo- 
pus, that  in  its  bulk  far  surpasses  the  imaginary  creatures  of  the 
mariners  tales  and  is  even  far  more  dangerous  and  rapacious. 

This  strange  animal,  now  several  hundred  years  old,  has 
a  most  peculiar  origin.  It  emerged  from  the  mingling  of 
several  smaller  cuttlefish,  that  used  to  prey  on  the  borders  of 
the  North  Sea,  and  are  known  to  learned  men  as  Octopus 
Celtae,  Octopus  Picti,  Octopus  Angli,  Octopus  Saxonis, 
Octopus  Juti  and  Octopus  Normani.  The  intercourse  of  these 
different  cuttlefish  resulted  in  the  birth  of  a  far  more 
formidable  creature,  known  as  Octopus  Anglo-Saxonis.  — 

The  haunt  of  this  huge  mollusca  is  the  British  Island,  from 
where  its  countless  wiry  tentacles  and  cables  run  out  in  all  di- 
rections and  entangle  all  the  countries  and  islands  of  our 
globe. 

Its  big  eyes  are  in  the  ability  of  expression  genuine 
wonders.  Generally  glaring  with  extreme  ferocity,  they  gain 
a  most  innocent  aspect  when  the  creature  feels  itself  observed. 
While  the  dangerous  tentacles  begin  to  play  in  a  bewitching 
and  hypnotizing  way,  these  eyes  are  directed  heavenward, 
only  to  change  again  to  their  natural  wild  ferocity  as  soon  as 
the  octopus  feels  free  from  observation. 

As  is  the  case  with  all  cuttlefish,  this  monster  consists 
mainly  of  mouth  and  stomach.  The  capacity  and  power  of 
both  are  most  remarkable.  Able  to  swallow  whole  countries 
and  large  islands  in  one  gulp,  it  rapidly  assimilates  everything 
of  value. 

In  the  quality  of  its  food  the  huge  monster  is  not  at  all  par- 
ticular. With  the  same  gusto  it  feasts  upon  white  and  yellow 
people,  coppercolored  Indians,  the  blackest  Negroes,  brown 
Fijians  and  blubber-smelling  Eskimos,  as  long  as  these 
beings  are  juicy  and  have  things  worth  acquiring. 


_     8     — 

Like  other  cuttlefish  our  octopus  has  among  its  organs 
also  an  immense  ink-sac,  which  produces  incredible  amounts 
of  black,  poisonous  fluid.  This  it  expells  everywhere,  to  prey 
from  under  the  rising  clouds  upon  its  victims  or  to  make  good 
its  escape  from  enemies. 

This  dangerous  monster  is: 

England. 


There  was  never  a  monster  so  greedy  and  rapacious  as 
this  Giant  Octopus.  The  following  is  a  chronologically 
arranged,  but  incomplete  inventory  of  those  islands  and 
countries,  which  whetted  its  appetite  and  became  its  prey. 

First,  there  was  a  fair  island  towards  the  west,  known 
as  Green  Erin.  It  was  in  1  1  69,  when  the  big  cuttlefish  moved 
to  entangle  this  enticing  morsel  with  its  arms.  The  fearful 
struggle  lasted  for  several  hundred  years,  but  finally  the 
monster  overwhelmed  its  victim  and  slowly  sucked  it  to  the 
bones. 

The  next  sufferer  was  beautiful  Wales.  All  her  efforts 
to  keep  back  the  agressive  fiend  failed,  and  in  1294,  ended  in 
disaster. 

Then  the  evil-worker  assailed  Scotland,  which  after  heroic 
defense  lasting  for  several  hundred  years,  was  also  finally 
crushed. 

While  these  terrific  struggles  were  going  on,  other  arms 
of  the  ugly  monster  reached  toward  the  south,  snatching  from 
France  some  of  her  most  beautiful  provinces,  among  them 
Normandy,  Gascony  and  Aquitaine.  Constantly  gaining  in 
bulkiness,  the  bloodsucker  robbed  Spain,  during  the  1 6th 
century,  of  some  of  the  most  valuable  islands  in  the  West- 
indies,  among  them  that  terrestrial  paradise  Jamaica  (1655). 
Later  it  deprived  Holland  of  her  colonies  Cape  Coast  Castle 
(  1  661  ),  New  Netherland  (  1  664),  and  several  trading  stations 
in  Asia. 

Becoming  aware  of  the  enormous  wealth  of  India,  the 
octopus  then  engorged  Madras  (1639),  Bombay  (1661),  and 
Calcutta  (1691  ).  From  the  then  weak  Spain  it  stole  in  1  704 
Gibraltar,  the  key  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  later  on,  a 
part  of  Honduras  (1  783)  and  the  Isle  of  Trinidad  (1  797). 

From  France  it  wrested  her  great  empire  in  North  Ame- 
rica, New  France,  together  with  the  isles  St.  Vincent,  Granada, 
the  Grenadines,  Dominique  and  Tobago  (1  763).     Among  the 


—     9     — 

islands,  swallowed  during  the  1  7th  and  1 8th  centuries,  were 
Barbados  (1605);  the  Bermudas  (1609);  St.  Kitts  (1623); 
Nevis  (1628)  ;  the  Bahamas  and  Turks  (1629)  ;  Antigua  and 
Montserrat  (  1  632)  ;  Anguilla  (  1  650)  ;  St.  Helena  (  1  65  1  )  and 
the  Virgin  Islands   (1666). 

In  addition,  the  octopus  conquered  Gambia  in  1631,  Arcadia 
in  1690;  Penang  in  1786;  and  the  Sierra  Leone  in  1787. 
Again  in  1800,  the  mischief-maker  relieved  France  of  Malta; 
in  1803  of  St.  Lucia;  and  in  1814  of  Mauritius.  In  1807  it 
robbed  the  Danes  of  Heligoland.  About  the  same  time  the 
insatiable  monster  devoured  the  Dutch  Colony  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Also  it  gradually  incorporated  the  entire  continent 
Australia;  besides  New  Zealand,  and  numerous  archipelagos 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  native  population  of  which  was 
almost  entirely  ruthlessly  annihilated. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  1  9th  century  the  ugly  customer 
got  hold  of  the  isle  Ascension  (1815);  of  Aden  and  Socotra 
(  1  839 )  ;  of  Ashantiland  (  1  8 1  7- 1  83 1  );  of  Hongkong  (  1  84 1  )  ; 
of  Natal  and  Zululand  (1843);  of  Labuan  (1846—1848); 
and  of  the  Indian  principalities  Scinde,  Punjab,  Burma  and 
Oude  (1843—1856). 

At  the  same  time  his  tenacles  reached  over  toward 
Afghanistan. 

The  second  half  of  the  19th  century  witnessed  the  occu- 
pation of  the  isle  of  Perim  (1855);  of  Lagos  (1861);  of 
Bechuanaland  (1867);  of  large  parts  of  South  and  East 
Africa  (1870 — 1890);  of  Griqualand  (1871).;  of  Southeast 
New  Guinea  (1884);  of  Nigeria  (1886);  of  Zanzibar  and 
Uganda  (1887);  of  Nyassaland  and  Rhodesia  (1891);  of 
Matabeleland  (1893);  of  the  Malayan  Peninsula  (1895);  of 
Somaliland;  Baluchistan  and  of  some  coasts  and  islands  of  the 
Persian  Gulf.  Cyprus  and  Egypt  came  also  under  the  power 
of  the  glutton,  and  from  there  it  stretched  its  tentacles  over 
Nubia  and  Darfur  far  into  Central  Africa.  Transvaal  and  the 
Orange  Free  State  were  also  assailed.  After  a  long  and 
desperate  death  struggle  they  met,  in  1902,  the  same  fate  as 
all  other  victims  of  the  monster,  which,  feasting  on  their  blood, 
grew  in  the  course  of  centuries  to  stupendous  proportions. — 

This  register  does  not  pretend  to  be  complete.  If  one 
would  report  in  detail  all  the  assaults  and  misdeeds  committed 
by  this  Giant  Octopus,  such  an  account  would  swell  the  size 
of  this  pamphlet  to  a  volume.  One  would  have  to  show  how 
the  cuttlefish  in  our  days  has  been  engaged  to  divide  Persia 
with  Russia;  how  he  plotted  to  get  hold  of  the  fine  valleys 


—     10     — 

of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  of  Asia  Minor,  Muscat,  Tibet, 
Siam  and  other  countries  and  islands,  not  sufficiently  defended 
by  their  inhabitants. 

So  we  see  the  cruel  animal  at  work,  remorselessly  thrott- 
ling its  victims,  greedily  sucking  their  life-blood  and  destroying 
their  hopes  and  happiness. 

Will  Germany  become  Siegfried,  and  deliver  humanity 
from  this  monster? 


England  a  destroyer  of  Nations. 

It  is  a  long  list  of  transgressions — stretching  over  four  cent- 
uries— which  is  here  enrolled  before  the  eyes  of  the  reader. 
It  informs  him  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  brilliantly  gifted  nations, 
successful  in  the  development  of  their  culture,  industry  and 
commerce,  and  who,  achieving  prosperity,  even  wealth,  there- 
by awakened  the  jealousy,  the  envy  and  greed  of  England, 
which  thereafter  destroyed  and  despoiled  them  by  cunning 
and  violance.  I  have,  in  the  following,  given  only  those  facts, 
the  truth  of  which  the  reader  can  easily  ascertain  and  from 
which  he  can  draw  his  own  conclusions  about  England's  poli- 
cies during  the  past  four  centuries. 

England,  the  Originator  of  Spain's  Downfall. 

The  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  the  conquest  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  by  Cortes  and  Pizarro,  the  exploitation  of 
the  gold-lands  of  Central  America  had  made  the  Spain  of  the 
1  6th  century  the  richest  land  on  the  globe.  Great  fleets  of 
treasure-laden  galleons  brought,  year-in,  year-out,  new  riches 
to  Spain's  rulers.  But  they  also  aroused  the  greed  of  English 
mariners,  who,  with  the  silent  approbation  of  their  government, 
went  forth  to  prey  upon  the  Spanish  gold-  and  silver-ships 
home  bound  from  the  Americas. 

It  must  be  stated  right  here,  that  in  those  days  friendly  re- 
lations existed  between  Spain  and  England,  that  the  two 
countries  were  at  peace,  wherefor  the  secret  approval  by  the 
English  Government  of  the  piracy  places  the  same  in  an  un- 
favorable light.  By  it  the  English  Government  made  itself  an 
accomplice  and  abettor  on  a  large  scale. 

To  show  the  low  state  of  the  morals  prevailing  in  England 
in  those  days,  it  will  be  necessary  to  peruse  at  some  length  the 
activity  of  those  freebooters,  which  are  heralded  by  English 
histories  as  "the  great  heroes  of  the  sea."  This  retrospection 
is  necessary  because  we  wish  to  show  that  the  pernicious  in- 
fluence emanating  from  them  poisoned  the  morals  of  the 
English  nation  for  centuries  to  come  and  has  stamped  its 
characteristics  on  their  government  to  our  day. 

The  first  of  these  "heroes  of  the  sea**  was  William  Hawkins, 
of  Plymouth.     He  it  was  who  undertook  the  first  slave  hunts 


—     12     — 

to  the  coast  of  Guinea  and  began  that  African  slave  trade  in 
which  England  was  engaged  for  nearly  three  centuries. 

His  son,  John  Hawkins,  continued  this  lucrative  business 
with  eager  persistency  and  grew  rich.  At  the  same  time  he 
was  very  pious  and  godfearing.  When,  invading  a  negro  vil- 
lage near  Sierra  Leone,  he  almost  fell  into  captivity  himself  and 
was  exposed  to  the  same  fate,  which  he  had  inflicted,  with- 
out compunction,  upon  thousands  of  others,  he  wrote  in  his 
logbook:  **God,  who  worketh  all  things  for  the  best,  would  not 
have  it  so,  and  by  Him  all  escaped  without  danger;  His  name 
be  praysed  for  it."  At  another  time,  when  his  vessels  were  be- 
calmed for  a  long  time  in  midocean  and  great  suffering  ensued: 
**But  Almighty  God,  who  never  suffereth  His  elect  to  perish, 
sent  us  the  sixteene  of  Februarie  the  ordinarie  Breeze,  which 
is  the  northwest  winde.*' 

From  which  record  it  becomes  evident  that  the  English  even 
in  those  days,  whatever  their  questionable  trades  might  have 
been,  carried  the  name  of  God  in  their  sacrilegeous  mouths 
but  cared  damnably  little  for  His  commandments  of  brotherly 
love. 

For  the  negroes,  carried  off  in  Africa,  Hawkins  found  a 
ready  market  in  Brazil,  the  West  Indies  and  Mexico,  though 
King  Philip  II.  of  Spain  had  strictly  forbidden  all  dealings  with 
Hawkins.  To  give  the  poorer  settlers  a  chance  to  obtain  lab- 
orers at  low  price,  many  officials  tacitly  permitted  the 
bargain.  In  smaller  towns,  where  authorities  objected,  Haw- 
kins hushed  the  officials  in  having  the  boats,  carrying  the  neg- 
roes, escorted  by  a  force  of  some  hundred  men  in  armor,  with 
cannon  sufficient  to  awe  the  authorities,  whereupon  the  slave- 
trade  began.  On  account  of  complaints  being  sent  to  Spain 
concerning  this  unusual  mode  of  carrying  on  business,  the  for- 
mer inhibition  was  made  more  severe.  But  in  spite  of  it  the 
Englishman  continued  his  lucrative  voyages,  well  knowing  that 
by  so  doing  he  was  winning  the  applause  of  the  English  crown. 
Indeed,  Queen  Elizabeth,  because  of  the  riches  Hawkins  had 
brought  to  England,  knighted  him  and  granted  him  a  coat  of 
arms. 

Translated  from  the  jargon  of  heraldy,  this  patent  of  nobility 
meant,  that  he  might  bear  on  his  black  shield  a  golden  lion 
rampant  over  blue  waves.  Above  the  lion  were  three  golden 
dublons,  representing  the  riches  Hawkins  had  brought  to 
England.  To  give  due  credit  to  the  piety  of  this  "nobleman" 
there  was  in  the  upper  quartering  of  the  shield  a  pilgrim's 
scallop-shell  in  gold,  flanked  by  two  pilgrim's  staffs,  indicating 
that  Hawkin's  slave-hunts  were  genuine  crusades,  undertaken  in 


—     13     — 

the  name  of  Christendom.  For  a  crest  this  coat-of-arms  shows 
the  half-length  figure  of  a  negro,  with  golden  armlets  on  his 
arm  and  ears,  but  bound  and  captive. 

To  show  to  what  extent  the  name  of  Christianity  was  abused, 
Hawkins,  when  in  1567  entering  upon  his  greatest  expedition 
with  five  ships,  sacrilegeously  baptized  his  flagship:  "Jesus 
Christ." 

But  when  this  slave  dealer  imagined  himself  under  the  spec- 
ial protection  of  the  heavenly  host,  he  had  made  a  miscalcu- 
lation. For,  when  he  arrived  with  500  slaves  in  West  India, 
he  unexpectedly  met,  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa  with 
a  strong  Spanish  fleet  which  burned  three  of  his  ships  and  de- 
feated him  so  completely  that  he,  with  the  remaining  vessels 
was  driven  to  sea  without  provisions. 

How  ill  he  fared  on  his  homeward  trip,  Hawkins  thus  plain- 
tively described  in  the  following  passage  of  his  logbook:  **With 
many  sorrowful  hearts  we  wandred  in  an  unknowen  Sea,  tyll 
hunger  enforced  us  to  seeke  the  lande,  for  birds  were  thought 
very  good  meat,  rats,  cattes,  mise,  and  dogges,  none  escaped 
that  might  be  gotten,  parrotes  and  monkyes,  that  were  had 
in  great  prize,  were  thought  then  very  profitable  if  they  served 
the  turn  one  dinner.  If  all  the  miseries  and  troublesome  af- 
faires of  this  sorrowful  voyage  should  be  perfectly  and  thor- 
oughly written,  there  should  need  a  paynstaking  man  with  his 
pen,  and  as  great  a  time  as  he  had  that  wrote  the  lives  and 
deathes  of  the  martirs." 

Among  the  martyrs  of  this  eventful  voyage  was  Francis 
Drake,  who,  later  on,  became  the  most  famous  of  the  "great" 
English  sea  heroes.'* 

From  the  time  of  that  disaster  Drake  took  up  as  a  profession 
the  work  of  plundering  the  Spaniards,  for,  after  his  arrival  in 
England  he,  with  the  connivance  of  the  government  openly 
set  out  with  the  sole  purpose  of  preying  upon  Spanish  com- 
merce and  colonies.  Of  him  his  Spanish  contemporaries  speak 
only  as  of  the  "archpirate  of  the  Universe"  who,  like  a  dragon, 
pounced  upon  Spain's  colonies  to  devastate  them.  The  great- 
est of  his  several  predatory  voyages  covered  a  period  of  three 
years.  Well  equipped,  accompanied  by  many  English  "noble- 
men" and  able  mariners,  sure  of  the  pious  well  wishes  of  his 
government,  this  buccaneer  left  Plymouth  on  Nov.  15th,  15  77 
with  five  ships. — ^When  he  returned,  rich  in  booty,  the  Spanish 
ambassador  to  the  English  Court  demanded  that  Drake  be  ar- 
rested and  tried  for  piracy.  But  the  English  Government  ig- 
nored this  request.  Moreover,  Queen  Elizabeth  showed  her 
approval  of  Drake's  acts  and  her  aversion  toward  Spaniards 


—     14     — 

in  the  most  demonstrative  manner  possible  in  proceeding  April 
4th,  1581  with  her  court  to  Deptford  visiting  Drake  aboard 
his  ship  which  lay  at  anchor  there,  dining  with  him  and  knight- 
ing him. 

This  open  sanction  of  piracy  and  almost  unbelievable  insult 
to  a  friendly  nation  started  that  terrible  war,  in  which,  to  over- 
come Spain's  power  on  the  high  seas,  every  alliance  with  other 
nations  appeared  proper  to  England.  It  not  only  formed  an 
alliance  with  the  Netherlands,  then  in  rebellion  against  Spain, 
but  also  with  its  arch  enemy,  France,  and  even  with  Turkey. 

In  the  hostilities  ensuing,  England  found  unexpectedly  an 
ally  in  the  very  elements.  When  in  1588  the  famous  Armada 
appeared  in  the  Canal,  to  punish  England  for  the  numberless 
offenses  against  the  Spanish  flag,  the  great  fleet  ran  into 
terrible  storms,  which  played  such  a  havoc  with  it,  that  many 
vessels  became  wrecks.  Others  were  attacked  and  burned  by 
Dutch  and  English  war  vessels.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  ships,  compromising  the  Armada,  only  fifty-four  returned 
to  Spain.  By  this  catastrophe  Spain's  power  on  the  high  seas 
was  crippled  so  seriously,  that  she  could  interpose  but  little 
resistance  against  the  furious  attacks  of  Drake,  Cavendish, 
Morgan  and  the  countless  other  freebooters.  Spain's  pre- 
dominance on  the  seas  was  lost.  Too  weak  to  oppose,  she  could 
not  prevent  the  violent  plundering  of  her  rich  West  Indian 
cities  by  English,  French  and  Dutch  pirates,  who  also  despoiled 
her  of  a  number  of  her  finest  islands:  Jamaica,  San  Domingo 
and  many  other  of  the  lesser  Leeward  Islands. 

By  the  many  wicked  acts  of  these  buccaneers  the  Carribbean 
Sea  became  for  centuries  the  most  dangerous  water  on  the 
globe.  He,  who  studies  the  history  of  the  Atlantic  navigation 
of  the  1  7th,  1  8th  and  1 9th  centuries  encounters  everywhere 
striking  proofs  of  how  piracy,  favored  by  the  English  Govern- 
ment, grew  like  a  malevolent  cancer,  poisoning  the  morals  of 
nations.  Who  wants  to  convince  himself  of  this  fact  may  con- 
sult in  our  public  libraries  the  books  on  the  Buccaneers,  on  Sir 
Henry  Morgan,  and  last,  not  least.  Captain  William  Kidd, 
who  had  been  sent  by  the  English  Government  to  suppress  buc- 
caneering, yet  instead  turned  pirate  himself,  who  covered  up 
his  countless  misdeeds  by  scuttling  the  vessels  he  captured  and 
plundered,  and  sending  them  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  with 
man  and  mouse.  His  spoils,  buried  somewhere,  are  still  the 
goal  of  treasure  hunters. 

The  success  gained  by  Hawkins,  Drake  and  other  great  and 
small  "sea  heroes"  demonstrated  to  the  English  conclusively 
the  importance  of  the  control  of  the  sea.     As  early  as   1612 


—     15     — 

Chancellor  Bacon  wrote:  "He  who  rules  the  sea  has  many  ad- 
vantages. He  can,  at  his  option,  interfere  in  any  war,  while 
the  greatest  land  powers  are  often  in  straits."  From  the  dis- 
covery of  this  fact  dates  the  aim  of  the  English  to  gain  the 
supremacy  at  sea  and  to  destroy  all  rivals  who  might  dare  to 
enter  into  competition  with  them,  on  the  ocean. 

England,  the  Destroyer  of  Holland's  Greatness. 

When  England  had  annihilated  Spain's  supremacy  on  the 
seas  it  turned  against  Holland.  After  her  separation  from  the 
German  Empire,  Holland  had  by  dint  of  indefatigable  indust* 
ry  and  the  intelligence  and  energy  of  her  inhabitants  during 
the  1  6th  and  the  1  7th  centuries  reached  a  state  of  extraordin- 
ary prosperity.  She  maintained  many  flourishing  industries 
which  were  distributed  over  her  various  cities.  Haarlem  was 
famous  for  its  excellent  linens,  its  beautiful  flowers  and  its 
extensive  trade  in  tulip-bulbs;  Leyden  furnished  the  finest 
broadcloth;  Delft  had  gained  a  reputation  for  its  hardware 
and  its  excellent  brews;  Zaandam  was  celebrated  for  its  ship- 
building; Enkhuizen  had  an  extensive  fish  trade,  mainly  in  her- 
rings. At  the  same  time  Holland  had  secured  a  large  part 
of  the  worlds  commerce.  Middelburg  was  the  principal  ex- 
port harbor  for  French  wines;  Dordrecht  traded  with  England; 
Terweer  with  Scotland ;  Friesland  with  Iceland  and  Greenland ; 
Flushing  with  the  West  Indies;  Amsterdam  with  Spain,  the 
countries  bordering  the  Mediterranean  and  with  East  India. 
Besides,  Holland  possessed  many  valuable  colonies;  in  Asia, 
for  instance,  Ceylon,  Celebes,  Java  and  several  others  of  the 
Sunda  Islands.  In  Hindostan  it  maintained  trading  stations 
which  supplied  Europe  with  valuable  spices  and  products  from 
China  and  Japan.  In  the  Western  hemisphere  the  Dutch  had, 
in  1614,  founded  the  Colony  New  Netherland,  the  chief  trad- 
ing post  of  which,  Niew  Amsterdam,  had  been  raised  to  high 
prosperity  by  Peter  Minnewit,  a  German  in  Dutch  service.  In 
South  America  Holland  possessed  Curacao  and  Surinam.  At 
the  South  end  of  Africa,  Dutch  colonists  had  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  those  Boer  settlements  which  afterward  became  im- 
portant as  the  Free  States.  About  1  650,  Holland  had  reached 
the  zenith  of  her  power.  Her  commerce  was  five  times  larger 
than  Englands;  her  merchant  marine  constituted  four- fifths 
of  the  entire  European  mercantile  fleet.  Her  national  wealth 
was  much  greater  than  that  of  England.  Arts  and  sciences 
flourished. 

All  through  the  nation  pulsated  that  virile  and  joyful  life. 


—     16     — 

expressed  so  exquisitely  in  the  paintings  of  the  great  contem- 
poraneous masters  of  the  Dutch  School. — It  was  this  very  for- 
tunate state  of  affairs,  that  the  envy  and  rapacity  of  England 
could  not  endure.  And  so  it  intrigued  to  cut  off  the  source  of 
Dutch  prosperity:  its  trade.  The  Navigation  Act,  issued  in 
1651,  was  the  first  blow  at  Holland.  This  law  prohibited  the 
import  of  all  foreign  merchandise  into  England  and  her  colon- 
ies in  ships  not  flying  the  English  flag,  or  the  flag  of  the  coun- 
try from  which  they  were  exported. 

This  utterly  crushed  Holland's  commerce  as  far  as  England 
and  her  colonies  were  concerned.  All  efforts  of  Holland  to 
bring  about  an  amelioration  of  conditions  peacefully  availed 
naught.  On  the  contrary,  Holland  was  soon  driven  to  defend 
her  commerce  by  force  of  arms.  Three  extraordinarily  bitter 
naval  wars  were  fought,  of  which  the  first  —  beginning  in 
1652, — though  it  remained  indecisive,  inflicted  heavy  losses 
on  Holland's  commerce.  In  less  than  fifteen  months  she  lost 
over  sixteen  hundred  merchant  ships.  The  commerce  with  the 
Baltic  countries  was  almost  destroyed,  and  the  herring  fishery 
and  whaling  was  interrupted.  In  Amsterdam  all  business  came 
to  a  standstill.  More  than  three  thousand  houses  were  vacant. 
This  enormous  loss  was  caused  largely  by  English  privateers 
who  were  little  better  than  pirates. 

A  second  naval  war  began  in  1  665,  a  year  after  four  Eng- 
lish frigates — without  any  previous  declaration  of  war — had 
sneaked  into  the  harbor  of  Niew  Amsterdam  and,  by  directing 
their  sixty  heavy  guns  upon  the  small  settlement,  had  forced 
the  surrender  of  this  weakly  defended  post.  "We  need  a  great- 
er part  of  the  Dutch  trade;  it  is  immaterial  what  we  employ  to 
force  war!"  Thus  the  English  Government  had  declared  and 
had  acted  accordingly. 

The  bitter  war  was  renewed,  resulting  in  victories  for  the 
great  Dutch  Admirals  Van  Tromp  and  De  Ruyter.  The  latter, 
in  the  battle  of  New  Foreland,  defeated  the  English  fleet  so 
completely  that  she  was  compelled  to  flee  up  the  Thames 
River.  Even  after  England  had  secured  the  assistance  of 
France,  De  Ruyter  beat  the  united  fleets  of  the  Allies  on  July  7 
1672,  at  Southwell,  and  convoyed  a  fleet  of  Dutch  merchant- 
men safely  to  their  home-harbors. 

But  the  incessant  and  ravishing  wars  which  little  Holland 
had  to  carry  on  against  her  mighty  neighbors,  England  and 
France,  consumed  her  strength.  Exhausted,  she  had  to  enter 
into  peace  negotiations,  in  which  she  lost,  beside  her  colony 
Niew  Netherland,  her  settlements  in  South  Africa,  beautiful 
Ceylon,     and     her     trading    stations     in     Hindostan.       Thus 


—     17     — 

Holland's  position  as  a  maritime  power  was  wrecked,  and,  like 
Spain,  she  was  reduced  to  the  status  of  a  minor  sea  power. 

England,  the  Arch-foe  of  France. 

After  the  British  had  humiliated  Spain  and  Holland,  they 
forced  France,  her  whilom  ally  in  the  struggle  with  Holland, 
to  the  knees. 

The  position  of  France  at  this  period  was  supreme  on  the 
European  continent  and  she  was  almost  the  equal  of  England 
on  the  high  seas.  Her  commerce  was  flourishing.  As  early  as 
the  15  th  century  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  16th,  French 
sailors  visited  the  New  Foundland  Banks,  known  for  their 
enormous  wealth  in  fishes.  The  French  furnished  the  Catholic 
countries  of  Europe  with  dried  fish,  which  formed  the  prin- 
cipal diet  during  the  many  religious  fasting  days.  In  connec- 
tion with  these  trips  the  French  discovered  vast  stretches  of 
the  North-American  continent.  Verrazano  explored,  as  the 
first,  in  1524  the  whole  coast  from  North  Carolina  to  Maine, 
whereby  he  also  discovered  New  York  Bay.  Ten  years  later 
Cartier  discovered  the  St.  Lawrence  River  as  well  as  the  coasts 
of  New  Brunswick  and  Canada.  Then  followed  the  import- 
ant explorations  by  Ribault,  Champlain,  La  Salle  and  many 
other  so-called  'Voyageurs.'*  In  these  great  areas,  comprising 
the  system  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  well  as  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  French  founded  two  great  empires:  New  France  and  Loui- 
siana. The  first  stretched  from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
westward  to  the  Great  Lakes,  and  across  the  Ohio  and  down  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Louisiana  included  all  the  terri- 
tory west  of  the  "Father  of  Waters.**  In  time  it  became  more 
and  more  evident  that  France  had  gotten  the  best  and  most 
fertile  part  of  North  America.  The  British  were  not  slow  to 
perceice  this  fact  and  with  this  perception  began  their  un- 
tiring efforts  to  dislodge  their  more  fortunate  rivals  from  their 
rich  possessions.  Encroaching  constantly  on  French  territory 
they  started  that  system  of  border  war-fare,  which  lasted  with 
short  intervals  from  1689  to  1763.  These  wars  reached  an 
appaling  character  when  the  English  as  well  as  the  French  per- 
suaded the  Indians  under  their  influence,  to  help  in  the  mutual 
murder.  In  this  savage  butchery  German  emigrants  from  the 
Palatinate,  which  the  English  had  settled  at  the  most 
exposed  points,  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  hostile  assaults. 
The  chronicles  of  the  Germans  in  Maine,  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Mohawk  and  Schoharie  of  the  Colony  New  York,  in  the  Blue 
Mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  numerous  other  places  con- 


—     18     — 

tain  many  stories  of  horrible  excesses  to  which  these  settlers 
were  exposed,  without  the  Colonial  Government  bothering  it- 
self much  about  the  fate  of  these  unfortunate  outposts.  In  1  754 
the  great  war,  which  was  to  settle  the  predominance  in  America, 
broke  out.  It  lasted  nine  years  and  brought  new  sufferings 
to  the  German  settlers  in  the  frontier  districts. 

The  terrible  struggle,  which  was  also  carried  on  in  Europe, 
ended  by  the  Peace  of  Paris  in  1  763.  It  cost  France  her  colo- 
nial empires  in  North  America,  that  she  had  established  and 
developed  with  enormous  efforts  and  outlay  of  money.  More- 
over the  French  lost  the  West  Indian  Islands  Granada,  St.  Vin- 
cent, Dominique  and  Tobago.  England's  magnamity  left 
France  nothing  but  the  two  minute  islets  of  St.  Pierre  and  Mi- 
quelon,  south  of  New  Foundland,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which 
the  French  sailors  are  allowed  to  fish,  in  order  that  they  might 
supply  their  co-religiously  with  cod  fish. 

But  England  was  not  yet  satisfied  with  these  results.  Con- 
stantly keeping  in  view  the  idea  of  becoming  the  sole  mistress 
of  the  seas,  it  was  incessantly  busy  destroying  also  France's 
maritime  power.  This  desire  was  satisfied  during  the  wars  of 
all  Europe  against  Napoleon  I,  in  the  two  naval  battles  at 
Aboukir  (July  1st,  1798)  and  Trafalgar  (October  2  1st,  1805) 
both  of  which  were  won  by  England's  greatest  admiral.  Nelson. 
On  account  of  these  defeats.  Napoleon  had  to  forego  his  in- 
tention of  attacking  his  most  hated  enemies,  the  English,  in 
their  own  country,  as  he  had  no  vessels  left  to  transport  his 
armies  thither.  With  the  battle  of  Trafalgar  the  French  flag 
was  driven  from  the  ocean,  and  France,  as  a  sea  power,  became 
a  negligible  factor  for  many  years  to  come. 

England  destroys  Commerce  and  Flteet  of  Neutral  Denmark. 

During  the  Napoleonic  period  England  seized  the  opportun- 
ity to  deprive  another  nation  of  its  fleet  and  commerce:  the 
Danes.  Denmark  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  part  of  the 
world's  trade,  and,  for  its  protection,  had  created  a  navy,  small 
but  efficient.  During  the  Napoleonic  wars  Denmark  remained 
strictly  neutral,  had  however  entered  a  so-called  neutral  con= 
federacy  with  Sweden,  Russia  and  Prussia.  This  confederacy 
had  been  formed  to  prevent  England  from  searching  vessels 
of  the  various  neutral  countries  for  contraband  of  war.  Such 
a  neutral  alliance  was  so  much  the  more  necessary  as  England 
had  repeatedly  seized  Swedish  and  Danish  frigates,  which  were 
to  prevent  such  search,  and  had  taken  them  to  English  ports. 
To   force  Denmark's  withdrawal   from   this  confederacy  and 


—     19     — 

to  make  it  the  unconditional  vassal  of  England,  there  appeared 
in  Spring  1801,  an  enormous  English  fleet  before  Copenhagen 
and  opened  on  the  2nd  day  of  April  a  bombardment  on  the 
peaceful  city  and  its  fortifications.  This  unwarranted  assault, 
which  took  place  while  the  two  nations  were  at  peace,  worked 
great  havoc  everywhere.  Though  the  Danes  could  not  hope 
for  victory,  they  nevertheless  sturdily  defended  their  city, 
causing  the  English  a  loss  of  one  thousand  men  and  consider- 
able damage  to  their  ships.  The  hostilities  ceased  when  the 
news  arrived  of  the  assassination  of  the  Czar  Paul,  whereby 
the  neutral  confederacy  appeared  to  be  dissolved.  Averse  to 
becoming  a  vassal  of  England,  Denmark  maintained  its  neu- 
tral position  also  during  the  following  years,  thereby  provok- 
ing the  wrath  of  England  to  an  even  greater  degree.  It  was 
July  31st,  1807,  when  Lord  Castlereagh  in  open  Parliament 
declared:  "A  large  expedition  will  be  fitted  out,  but  those, 
whom  it  concerns,  will  not  hear  of  it  until  they  feel  the  death- 
blow in  their  neck."  And  indeed,  on  the  1  6th  of  August  there 
appeared  before  unsuspecting  Copenhagen  thirty-six  English 
warships  and  five  hundred  large  transports.  While  the  latter 
landed  an  army  of  30,000  men  which  besieged  the  city  from 
the  landside,  the  fleet  blockaded  the  harbor  and  shelled  the 
city  five  days  and  nights.  After  twenty-eight  streets  with  all 
the  palaces,  houses  and  churches  had  been  utterly  destroyed 
and  more  than  2,000  inhabitants  had  perished,  the  survivors 
submitted  to  the  terms  of  the  brutal  intruders.  Denmark  was 
forced  to  surrender  her  whole  navy,  consisting  of  eighteen  bat- 
tleships, fifteen  frigates,  six  briggs  and  twenty-five  gunboats 
to  the  English,  who,  before  their  departure,  destroyed  also  on 
the  wharves  all  machines  and  equipment  which  they  could  not 
carry  off.  With  one  blow  Denmark's  commerce  and  defense 
were  destroyed  for  decades  to  come.  All  this  was  done  in  a 
time  of  peace  between  the  two  nations,  and  without  declara- 
tion of  war  by  the  nation,  which  to-day  poses  as  the  protecting 
arch-angel  of  Belgium  and  as  the  upholder  of  morals  in  the 
international  dealings. 

The  celebrated  German  historian  Onken  declared  this  act 
as  an  outrage  unparralleled  in  history^  committed  against  a 
neutral  state,  the  only  transgression  of  which  was  its  weak  de- 
fense and  which,  in  consequence  was  attacked  from  ambush, 
pirate-fashion,  strangled  almost  to  death,  robbed  and  then  left 
bleeding  by  the  way-side,  a  glaring  example  of  the  tyrannical 
depravity  the  armed  English  shop-keepers  were  capable  of  and 
who  on  their  domain, — the  sea,  feared  no  longer  any  rival." 

After  this  ignoble  exploit  the  English  Government  declared 


—     20     — 

by  ministerial  Ordinance  (18th  and  26th  of  November  1807) 
that  all  European  harbors,  which,  on  account  of  Napoleon's 
Continental  System  refused  to  admit  English  vessels,  would  be 
blockaded.  Moreover,  all  ships  of  neutrals  had  to  submit  to 
contraband  search  by  English  cruisers  and  they  were  ordered 
under  threat  of  confiscation  to  stop  in  English  harbors  before 
proceeding  to  the  points  of  their  destination.  By  this  England 
bluntly  declared  that  it  would  not  recognize  neutral  states, 
ships,  harbors  and  flags,  but  would  treat  every  one  as  an  en- 
emy, who  would  not  submit  to  English  omnipotence. 

Englsmd,  the  Scourge  of  Ireland. 

England's  nearest  neighbors,  the  Irish,  also  belong  to  the 
nations  who  had  to  suffer  from  the  violence  and  cupidity  of 
the  British.  Erin,  the  "Emerald  Isle"  had  in  the  early  Middle- 
Ages  reached  a  high  standard  of  culture  ajid  was  an  abode 
of  Sciences  and  Arts,  whence  the  first  rays  of  Christianity  rad- 
iated over  the  nations  north  of  Europe,  enveloped  as  yet  in 
barbarism.  This  opulent  position  of  the  fair  island  aroused 
the  Anglo-Saxon  cupidity  of  a  very  early  date,  and  they  made 
frequent  raids  into  Ireland,  until  during  the  days  of  Cromwell 
the  whole  island  was  subjected  to  English  rule.  In  these 
times  the  black-browed  puritanism  committed  horrible  cruel- 
ties against  the  Irish,  who  were  Catholics.  From  1  641  to  1  652 
over  500,000  perished  by  sword,  famine  and  disease.  Al- 
most 100,000  others  were  banished  and  their  land  and  prop- 
erty confiscated.  Those  remaining  were  driven  into  the  most 
barren  parts  of  Ireland,  where  they  had  difficulties  to  main- 
tain their  lives.  The  sequestrated  property  was  handed  over 
to  English  and  Scotch  colonists  or  to  favorites  of  the  kings. 
Complaisant  concubines  were  not  forgotten,  as  for  instance 
Elizabeth  Villiers,  who  was  created  Countess  of  Orkney.  Re- 
bellions were  suppressed  with  indescribable  brutality  and  the 
confiscation  repeated,  where  a  few  of  the  Irish  had  escaped  be- 
fore. In  the  interest  of  the  English  landlords,  manufacturers 
and  merchants,  the  growth  of  the  Irish  cattle  breeding,  industry 
and  commerce  was  suppressed.  When  the  Irish  started  to  ex- 
port cattle,  sheep,  butter  and  eggs  to  England,  this  was  for- 
bidden upon  the  instigation  of  the  English  cattle  raisers.  When 
they  started  to  spin  wool  and  manufacture  worsted  goods  the 
Parliament,  in  1  699,  passed  a  law  forbidding  their  export  to 
foreign  countries.  The  magnificent  harbors  of  Ireland,  in  or- 
der to  exclude  competition  with  the  ports  of  England,  were 
not  to  be  used  and  so  finally  became  desolated.     The  suffrage 


—     21     — 

was  abolished.  All  these  oppressions  kindled  in  the  hearts  of 
the  Irish  that  hatred  which,,  becoming  hereditary  from  gen- 
eration to  generation,  evidenced  itself  in  countless  conspiracies, 
and  to-day  burns  in  the  hearts  of  the  Irish  fiercer  than  ever. 
When  England  lost  her  North  American  colonies,  it  flared 
up  anew  in  a  revolt,  which,  however,  was  suppressed  at  the 
cost  of  some  30,000  lives.  The  pitiable  situation  of  the  Irish 
became  still  worse.  Reduced  to  the  condition  of  tenants  on 
their  own  former  property,  they  were  dependent  more  than 
ever  upon  the  greed  of  their  English  landlords.  By  1  840  their 
misery  and  poverty  was  so  abject  that  thousands  of  tenants 
could  not  pay  their  land  rent,  whereupon  they  were  driven 
from  their  holdings  by  soldiers  sent  from  England  for  this 
purpose.  At  the  same  time  crops  failed  and  starvation  ensued, 
carrying  off  thousands.  It  was  now  that  the  exodus  of  the 
masses  started,  which  deprived  Ireland  of  over  3,764,000  per- 
sons, within  the  forty  years  1841  to  1880.  The  majority  of 
these  emigrants  found  an  asylum  in  the  United  States,  where 
they  established  new  homes,  but  still  remember  their  "Green 
Erin"  in  melancholy  sorrow. 

England,  the  Vampire  of  India. 

India,  in  the  1  6th  and  I  7th  centuries  consisted  of  a  large 
number  of  independent  principalities  and  kingdoms,  the  rulers 
of  which  allowed  the  Portuguese,  Dutch  and  French  traders 
to  lease  real-estate  in  certain  places  along  the  coast  and  there 
to  erect  trading  stations.  As  these  traders  gained  enormous 
profits  an  English  "East  India  Company"  was  organized  in, 
1612  and  by  the  government  furnished  with  far  reaching  priv- 
ileges. Not  only  did  it  hold  within  its  domains  the  criminal 
jurisdiction,  but  also  the  entire  political  administration  of  the 
land.  England  could  not  have  put  the  management  of  its  in» 
terests  into  abler  hands.  For,  in  the  leaders  of  this  "East  In- 
dia Company"  were  concentrated  the  spirit  of  piracy,  the  hy- 
pocrisy, the  crafty  deceit,  the  audacity  and  brutality  of  the 
"great  sea  heroes."  They  succeeded,  by  intrigues  and  force, 
not  only  in  driving  away  their  Portugese,  Dutch  and  French 
rivals  but,  by  cunning  interference  with  the  quarrels  of  the  In- 
dian princes,  by  supporting  and  playing  off  one  ruler  against 
the  others  to  gain  so  great  an  influence  in  India,  that  they 
could  venture  from  their  secret  to  an  open  policy  of  conquest. 
This  policy  found  its  most  audacious  and  inscrupulous  exponent 
in  Robert  Clive  who,  in  1  744  had  come  to  Madras  and  in  a 
most  ingenious  way  exploited  all  occasions    to    increase    the 


—     22     — 

power  of  the  Company.  Madras  as  well  as  the  Bengal  with 
the  rich  cities  Calcutta,  Benares  and  Allahabad  became  British 
and  by  this  the  victims  of  systematic  plundering,  which 
brought  fabulous  riches  to  the  Company  and  made  Clive  the 
wealthiest  man  of  his  time.  Since  he  had,  like  Hawkins  and 
Drake,  amassed  so  great  a  wealth  for  his  country,  it  was  but 
natural  that  he  was  knighted,  as  had  been  those  pirates.  This, 
however,  did  not  prevent  certain  members  of  the  Parliament, 
who  were  indignant  over  his  terrible  acts  and  rapacity,  from 
arraigning  him  as  a  criminal  and  demanding  his  punishment 
because  he  abused  the  power  with  which  he  was  entrusted  to 
"the  evil  example  of  the  servants  of  the  public,  and  to  the  dis- 
honor and  detriment  of  the  State." 

The  Government,  however,  could  not  allow  the  condemna- 
tion of  a  man  who  so  clearly  personified  its  own  prinicples.  It 
could  not  be  expected  to  brand  itself  with  the  mark  of  infa- 
my.— Therefore,  the  House  of  Commons  found  it  proper  not 
to  vote  on  the  arraignment,  but  to  substitute  a  decision  instead : 
"that  Lord  Clive  had  rendered  to  his  country  great  and  valu- 
able services."  Clive  shortly  afterward  ended  a  suicide.  Of 
his  successors  Warren  Hastings  continued  the  methods  used  by 
Clive.  Undermining  one  principality  after  another,  he  brought 
them  to  fall  by  his  cunning  or  caused  them  by  force  to  seek 
the  "high  protection  of  England."  By  allowing  his  officers  to 
follow  his  example  and  to  enrich  themselves  at  every  oppor- 
tunity the  Indian  population  was  subjected  to  incessant  op- 
pression. Revolts  were  put  down  with  such  inhuman  cruelty, 
that  a  number  of  English  philanthropists  in  1  786,  on  account 
of  "high  crimes  and  misdemeanors"  demanded  the  impeach- 
ment of  Hastings.  The  proceedings  lasted  8  years,  but  ended 
in  the  verdict,  by  the  House  of  Lords,  of  "not  guilty." — 

During  the  1 9th  century  all  principalities  between  the  In- 
dus and  Brahmaputra  were  subjugated;  in  the  West  the  fron- 
tiers were  extended  over  Baloochistan  as  far  as  Persia,  in  the 
East  over  Burma  and  Siam,  and  in  the  North  as  far  as  Tibet. 
All  this  was  done  by  shocking  cruelties.  The  famous  paint- 
ing by  Vereschagin,  showing  captured  Hindus  tied  to  the 
mouths  of  cannon  to  be  shot  into  a  thousand  atoms,  gives  an 
adequate  idea  of  this  phase  of  English  pacification  and  her 
civilization. 

Even  to-day  India  is  nothing  to  England  but  an  object  of 
regardless  plundering.  Once  enormously  wealthy,  India  is  to- 
day a  luckless  land  in  which  famines,  sweeping  away  millions  of 
people,  return  frequently,  a  land  whose  history  is  filled  with 
English  crimes,  with  blood  and  tears,  a  land  whose  inhabitants 


—     23     — 

curse  the  British  and  long  for  the  day  on  which  they  can  shake 
off  their  shackles. 

England  as  Poisoner  of  the  Chinese  Nation. 

The  "Most  Honorable  East  India  Company,"  the  activity 
of  which  we  have  just  now  related,  committed  many  crimes 
beside  those  in  India.  And  these  are  so  atrocious  that  probably 
no  more  shocking  were  ever  perpetrated  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind. Only  cold-blooded  cupidity,  bare  of  all  conscience, 
could  lead  the  "East  India  Company"  to  demoralize  and  poison 
a  whole  nation  numbering  hundreds  of  millions.  This  was  done 
with  opium.  This  narcotic  has  been  known  in  Asia  since  the 
13th  century;  in  China  however,  it  was  only  used  medically, 
as  a  cure  against  fever  and  dysenteria.  As  late  as  1  750,  while  the 
opium  trade  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  the  import  of 
opium  into  China  did  not  exceed  200  chests  per  year.  Things 
changed  when  in  1  773  the  "East  India  Company"  snatched 
the  opium  monopoly  away  from  the  Portuguese  and  started 
the  opium-culture  in  Bengal  on  a  grand  scale.  As  early  as  1  776 
the  importation  into  China  had  increased  to  1,000  chests,  and 
fourteen  years  later  to  4054  chests  at  14914  pounds  each,  as 
nothing  was  left  undone  to  induce  the  Chinese  to  the  en- 
snaring nature  of  the  poison. — ^When,  with  the  increasing  con- 
sumption of  opium  by  the  Chinese  the  terrible  results  of  its 
habitual  use  began  to  appear  and  when  the  population  of 
whole  districts  fell  into  retrogression  and  lingering  disease,  the 
Chinese  Government,  thoroughly  alarmed,  forbade  the  further 
importation  of  the  drug  and  punished  all  opium  smokers  with 
severe  penalties.  When  these  measures,  taken  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  nation,  were  found  to  be  insufficient,  the  penal- 
ties were  made  to  be  banishment  and  death.  In  order  to  re- 
move the  evil  with  the  root,  the  English  traders  were  forbid- 
den to  sell  the  dangerous  poison.  For  those  apostles  of  Euro- 
pean civilization  the  opium  trade  was  however  too  lucrative 
to  be  given  up.  Instead,  they  organized  an  extensive  smugg- 
ler trade,  whereby  the  opium  trade  was  increased  inside  of  ten 
years  (1820-1830)  to  16,877  chests  per  year  (See  Encyclop. 
Brittanica,  Art.:  Opium). — ^When  all  expostulations  of  the 
Chinese  Government  were  unavailing,  it  issued  in  1  839  a  pro- 
clamation to  the  English  traders,  threatening  hostile  measures, 
if  the  opium  ships,  serving  as  depots,  were  not  sent  away. 

This  demand  not  being  complied  with,  the  Chinese  Gov- 
ernment on  April  3rd  confiscated  20,291  chests  of  opium,  val- 
ued at  $2,500,000  and  destroyed  the  same.  When,  at  the 
same  time  English  sailors  killed  a  Chinaman  and  the  English 


—     24     — 

Government  refused  to  give  satisfaction,  an  imperial  edict  de- 
clared all  the  trade  rights  of  the  English  as  void  and  abolished, 
threatening  with  dire  punishment  the  subjects  of  all  other  na- 
tions who  would  attempt  to  continue  to  import  English  goods 
into  China. — John  Bull,  who  thus  felt  wounded  in  his  most 
sensative  spot,  the  money-bag,  declared  the  edict  as  casus  bel- 
li. At  the  instigation  of  the  "East  India  Company"  there  ap- 
peared a  strong  English  fleet  of  thirty-five  men-of-war  and 
seventy-five  transports,  which  blockaded  first  of  all  the  har- 
bor of  Canton  and  the  island  of  Tshousan  opposite  Ningpo. 
In  1841  the  fleet  shelled  the  forts  around  the  Bocca  Tigris,  and 
also  the  cities  of  Amoy,  Tshinghai,  Ningpo,  Tshapu,  Shang- 
hai and  Tshingkiang.  When  the  English  made  ready  to  also 
bombard  Nanking,  the  Chinese  Government,  to  save  this 
Southern  capital  from  destruction,  sued  for  peace.  China  was 
forced  to  pay  $21,000,000  in  war  indemnity  and  cede  Hong- 
kong as  well  as  open  the  harbors  of  Amoy,  Futchou,  Ningpo 
and  Shanghai  to  the  English  trade.  The  most  humiliating  of 
the  conditions  forced  upon  the  Chinese  Government  was,  that 
the  latter  had  to  revoke  the  edict  against  the  opium  trade.  And 
moreover  the  English  inserted  the  following  paragraph  into 
the  treaty:  "English  smugglers  shall  be  exempt  from  all  pun- 
ishment except  the  confiscation  of  such  goods  as  are  real  con- 
traband." And  further:  "British  subjects  and  ships  as  well 
as  Chinese  subjects  who  have  fled  aboard  British  vessels  shall 
be  under  English — not  Chinese  jurisdiction."  After  the  "East 
India  Company"  had  thus  thrust,  by  force,  the  opium  upon  the 
Chinese  and  opened  gate  and  door  to  lawlessness  it  turned 
with  might  and  main  to  the  profitable  Opium-trade.  How 
successful  the  Company  was  in  her  endeavors  is  evidenced  by 
the  statement  in  the  Encyclop.  Brit,  that  the  Opium  import  into 
Chinese  ports  amounted  in  1850  to  52,925  picul  at  133  lbs. 
and  increased  in  1880  to  96,839  picul  or  12,911,866  lbs. 
Europeans  have  often  enough  described  the  terrible  effects 
which  resulted  from  this  enormous  consumption  of  Opium. 
The  English  physician  Willamson,  who,  in  1874  with  his  own 
eyes,  saw  the  ravages  caused  by  the  use  of  Opium  in  Southern 
China,  branded  the  Opium  import  "as  the  greatest  outrage  of 
the  1  9th  Century,  which  had  destroyed  already  the  health  and 
welfare  of  over  ten  million  people."  He  writes:  "The  Chinese 
Government  still  hopes  to  stop  further  importation  of  Opium; 
and  it  is  the  wish  of  all  well  meaning  foreigners  that  it  may 
succeed.  The  Government  is  afraid  of  the  further  distribution 
of  the  narcotic.  And  this  is  the  chief  reason,  why  it  is  opposed 
to  build  railroads  and  permit  free  intercourse  with  the  interior 


—    25    — 

of  the  country.  Our  own  British  merchants  inflict  upon  them- 
selves the  greatest  harm.  Had  they  not  forced  upon  China  the 
import  of  Opium,  the  whole  empire  from  one  end  to  the  other 
would  have  been  opened  long  ago.  It  is  the  shortsighted 
greed  of  our  merchants,  that  leaves  to  their  successors  a 
crippled  trade  and  the  curse  of  a  numerous  nation.**  With 
what  hatred  the  Chinese  are  filled  against  the  destroyers  of 
their  nation  is  evident  in  a  poster  which  was  spread  far  and 
wide  during  a  revolt  against  the  English  and  which,  in  trans- 
lation, reads  as  follows:  'There  is  a  spot  on  the  Globe,  called 
England,  inhabited  by  an  undisciplined,  lawless  race.  The 
principal  design  of  these  people  is  to  harm  other  nations.  In 
boundless  self-conceit  they  swindle,  trespass  upon  the  rights 
of  other  countries  and  become  their  suppressors.  Their  main 
dogma  speaks  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  light  of  this  dogma,  they 
are  all  devils,  endeavoring  to  lead  others  astray  by  their  own 
false  doctrines.  No  matter  whether  a  place  be  rich  or  poor, 
they  spare  no  efforts  to  set  themselves  in  possession  of  it. 
Following  their  own  selfish  purposes  they  create  discord 
wherever  they  go.  Their  plots  take  all  kinds  of  forms,  which 
are  as  numerous  as  the  hair  on  our  heads.  By  all  that  is  good 
and  pure:  How  came  this  devilish  race  in  our  land?  How  shall 
and  can  we  in  these  days  of  peace  tolerate  these  shameless 
demons,  these  red-bristled  barbarians?  As  things  stand,  it 
only  remains  for  us  to  tie  ourselves  with  mutually  binding 
oaths  to  a  common  purpose  and  to  form  a  secret  society  to 
free  us  from  this  public  calamity.** 

Though  we  find  in  this  appeal  laid  open  the  purpose  of  the 
secret  societies  for  driving  out  the  foreigners,  the  Chinese  have, 
in  spite  of  all  endeavors  so  far  not  succeeded  in  getting  rid 
of  the  "red-bristled  barbarians."  Exploiting  regardlessly  their 
success  in  the  Opium  war,  demanding  of  the  Chinese  the  literal 
fulfilment  of  the  treaties,  themselves  however  not  being  guided 
by  them,  the  English  founded  settlements  in  places  where  they 
had  no  right  to  do  so.  They  promoted  the  smuggling-trade, 
prevented  the  punishment  of  the  guilty  ones  and  thereby 
undermined  the  authority  of  the  Chinese  Government.  Follow- 
ing the  advice  of  a  correspondent  of  the  London  "Times**: 
that  the  teeth  of  the  Chinese  should  be  pryed  open  and  the 
English  goods  driven  into  their  body,  if  necessary  with  powder 
and  cannon"  the  English  shopkeepers  in  the  treaty-ports  acted 
without  conscience.  In  his  work  "On  the  Chinese  Emigration" 
(1876)  the  celebrated  geographer  Friedrich  Ratzel  gave 
proofs  that  among  the  English  shopkeepers  there  existed  a 
regular  war  party,  which  directed  its  constant  efforts  upon  the 


—     26    — 

acquirements  of  more  favorable  mercantile  privileges,  and  also 
hailed  with  delight  any  revolts  which  might  be  made  a  pretext 
of  asking  enormous  indemnities  for  destroyed  merchandise 
and  thus  get  rich  quicker  and  with  less  effort  than  would 
have  been  possible  by  honest,   legitimate  trade. 

In  regard  to  the  opium-import  in  China,  it  must  be  said 
that  the  Chinese  Government  never  slackened  in  its  efforts  to 
fight  the  consumption  of  the  poison.  Everywhere  anti-opium 
societies  were  founded,  the  members  of  which  vowed  to  ab- 
stain entirely  from  its  use  and  to  work  for  the  conversion  of 
the  habitual  smokers.  The  Christian  missionaries  were  called 
upon  for  help  and  to  petition,  simultaneously  with  the  Foreign 
Office,  the  English  Government  to  forbid  the  opium-trade. 
On  account  of  these  representations  the  House  of  Commons, 
in  1891,  with  small  majority  passed  a  resolution  in  which  it 
admitted  that  "India's  opium-trade  is  morally  indefensible, 
but  economic  considerations  prevent  any  efforts  to  discontinue 
it."  Since  Christianity  exists  there  has  never  so  shamless- 
degrading  a  declaration  of  bankruptcy  of  the  Christian  prin- 
ciples been  passed  by  a  Christian  Government. 

For  1  0  years  the  situation  remained  unchanged.  Powerless, 
the  statesmen  of  China  had  to  see  how  the  destruction  of  the 
Nation  by  English  shopkeepers  proceeded.  Meanwhile  these 
scoundrels  had  cursed  also  other  countries  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
with  their  devilish  dissemination  of  the  opium-vice:  Formosa, 
the  Philippines,  Japan,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  Hawaii 
Islands,  Canada  and  California,  from  whence  the  vice  spread 
with  alarming  rapidity  to  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  Chicago  and 
New  York.  Startled  by  the  rapid  progress  of  this  pernicious 
vice,  industrial  and  religious  societies,  Chambers  of  Commerce 
and  the  International  Reform  Bureau  asked  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  remonstrate  with  the  British  Parliament. 
On  this  instance  in  1906  negotiations  were  renewed,  and  when 
discussion  came  up,  some  very  strong  arguments  were  made. 
Mr.  T.  C.  Taylor,  member  of  Parliament,  outlining  with  force- 
fulness  the  history  of  the  opium  traffic  and  holding  England 
responsible  for  its  continuance,  met  the  arguments  and  ob- 
jections of  the  revenue  officers  with  the  unanswerable  moral 
aphorism:  "Wrong  cannot  be  justified  by  revenue  nor  misery 
by  money."  This  moral  argument  was  strengthened  by  the 
opinion  of  medical  men,  reference  being  made  to  the  declar- 
ation of  the  harmfulness  of  opium,  signed  by  five  thousand 
physicians  in  1  892.  Embarrassed  by  these  proofs  of  growing 
anti-opium  sentiment  the  House  of  Commons  this  time 
expressed  its  feelings  in  the   following  words:    "This   House 


^  11  ^ 

reaffirms  its  conviction  that  the  India-Chinese  opium-trade  is 
^morally  indefensible*  and  requests  his  Majesty's  Government 
to  take  such  steps  as  may  be  necessary  to  bring  it  speedily  to 
a  close." 

Instead,  however,  of  at  once  enacting  this  deliverance  from 
the  evil,  China,  on  suggestion  of  Sir  Edward  Grey,  was  forced 
into  a  contract  by  which,  dating  from  Jan.  1st.  1908  a  gradual 
reduction  of  the  opium-import  was  to  take  place  until  1917 
when  it  should  cease  altogether,  provided  "China  furnished, 
during  the  first  3  years,  the  proof  that  its  population  was  really 
decided  to  give  up  the  use  of  Opium."  This  proof  China 
rendered,  though  in  1908  the  import  still  amounted  to  61,000 
chests,  in  1905  to  56,800,  and  in  1910  to  51,700  cases,  or  for 
the  3  years  22,600,000  lbs.  He  who  is  interested  in  the  recent 
history  of  the  Opium-trade  may  find  information  in  an  article 
in  the  "Forum"  by  R.  P.  Chiles  and  entitled:  "The  passing  of 
the  Opium  trade."  There  he  will  also  find  the  contemptible 
clauses  which  are  to  make  it  possible  for  the  English  Govern- 
ment to  draw,  in  all  future  the  revenues  it  desires  from  the 
Opium- trade.  The  shopkeeper's  spirit,  which  owns  the  English 
Government  as  much  as  it  does  the  nation,  leads  to  the 
apprehension  that,  after  1917  the  opium-trade  will  find  its  con- 
tinuation as  well  in  Eastern  Asia  as  over  the  rest  of  the  world, 
if  not  in  legitimate  roads  then  in  illegitimate  ones,  which  to 
take  the  shopkeepers  of  England  have  never  hesitated  in  the 
past  nor  will  in  the  future. 

England,  the  Suppressor  of  the  Free  Boers. 

English  cupidity  also  robbed  those  Dutch  settlers  of  house 
and  home,  who  in  1652  had  colonized  around  the  tableland  of 
South  Africa  and  who  led  a  peaceful  existence  in  the  pursuit 
of  agriculture  and  cattle  raising.  This  pastoral  life  came  to  an 
end  when  in  1  795  and  1815  England  took  possession  of  Cape- 
land.  From  now  on  overburdened  with  heavy  taxes  and  con- 
stantly oppressed,  the  Boers  decided  to  quit  their  old  home- 
steads and  find  new  ones  north  of  the  Orange  River,  where 
they  would  not  be  molested  by  English  tyranny.  Trekking 
into  the  interior  of  the  continent,  they  established  the  free 
States  Natal,  Oranje,  Transvaal  and  the  South  African  Re- 
public. But  their  oppressors  followed  them  and  stuck  close 
to  their  heels  wherever  they  might  transfer  their  habitation. 
Unfortunately  for  the  Boers  diamonds  and  gold  were  found  in 
their  new  homesteads.  This  caused  an  influx  of  adventurers 
of  every  description,  and  almost  immediately  England  began 
to  intrigue  to  obtain  possession. 


—     28     -- 

In  1877  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  High  Commissioner  of 
England  in  South  Africa,  announced  the  annexation  of  the 
country.  But  the  Boers  objected  and  decisively  defeated  the 
British  at  Majuba  Hill.  The  independence  of  the  Boer's 
was  recognized  and  confirmed  at  the  London  Convention  in 
1884. 

But  English  greed  would  not  let  the  matter  rest.  Promoters 
founded  the  "British  South  African  Company,"  better  known 
as  the  "Royal  Chartered  Co.",  which  soon  obtained  an  im- 
portance— and  quite  as  ominous — as  the  "East  India  Co." 
possessed  in  Asia.  One  of  the  leaders  was  the  son  of  an  English 
dominy:  Cecil  Rhodes,  who  possessed  all  the  qualities  of  his 
English  prototype  Robert  Clive.  In  a  short  time  he  had 
amassed  an  enormous  fortune,  becoming  known  as  the 
"Diamond  King."  In  1  890  he  was  made  Premier  of  the  Cape 
Colony,  and  conquered  Matabeleland  and  prepared,  in  col- 
lusion with  the  English  mine  owners  of  the  South  African  Re- 
public, the  invasion  undertaken  by  Dr.  Jameson.  This  raid,  put 
in  action  with  1200  men  on  Dec.  30th  1895,  had  in  view  the 
taking  unawares,  and  the  abolition,  of  the  government  and  the 
annexation  of  the  State.  But  the  Boers  had  been  made  aware 
of  this  design  and,  surrounding  the  insolent  intruders  forced 
them  on  Jan.  1  st,  1  896  to  surrender.  President  Krueger,  an  all 
too  mild  man,  instead  of  making  an  example  of  the  raiders  by 
having  them  shot,  delivered  them  to  the  English  Government 
for  punishment.  But  the  Colonial  Secretary,  Joseph  Chamber- 
lain, the  true  type  of  a  modern  English  pirate  in  dress  coat, 
treated  the  conspirators  not  only  with  great  leniency,  but  saw 
to  it,  that  Jameson  was  indemnified  properly,  for  the  fright  he 
had  suffered,  by  a  brilliant  position  in  South  Africa.  Jameson 
as  well  as  his  conspirators  were  praised  by  the  English  press 
and,  by  the  public,  lionized  as  "heroes."  Not  less  was  this  the 
case  with  Cecil  Rhodes,  the  intellectual  originator  of  the  raid. 
When  summoned  by  the  Parliament,  he  denied  not  only  all 
knowledge  of  the  scheme,  but  moreover  acted  as  accuser  of 
the  Boers.  As  a  matter  of  course  he  was  allowed  to  return 
to  his  post  as  Premier  of  the  Cape  Colony.  It  was  only  after 
the  Government  of  Transvaal  had  proven  his  guilt  beyond  all 
doubt,  that  he  resigned  as  Premier.  But  an  English  Official 
can  remain  a  gentleman  in  English  eyes,  even  if  he  is  a  proven 
liar  and  has  perjured  himself  before  the  Parliament  of  his  own 
country. 

However  this  did  not  free  the  Boers  of  their  grudges.  As  is 
in  everybody's  memory,  England  in  October  1 899  started 
that  disgraceful  war  against  Transvaal  which  lasted  until  1 902, 


—     29     — 

cost  England  its  best  troops  and  the  reputation  of  its  best 
generals.  Let  us  see,  in  what  benevolent  manner  England, 
which  in  her  present  war  simulates  abhorrence  and  dismay 
over  the  alleged  ruthless  conduct  of  the  war  by  the  German 
army,  achieved  finally  this  success. 

As  usual,  England  employed  also  in  the  Boer  War  savages. 
It  was  General  French  who  sent  Zulus  to  fight  the  Boers  and 
destroy  their  property.  This  happened  in  violation  of  the  ex- 
press pledge  given  by  Mr.  Balfour  at  the  outset  of  the  war. 
The  horrible  cruelties,  committed  by  these  Zulus,  incited  the 
government  of  Natal  to  a  strong  protest  against  this  mode  of 
warfare,  which  is  contrary  to  all  civilized  usages.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  protest  General  French  was  shifted  from  his 
command  in  the  northwestern  Transvaal  for  barbarous  war- 
fare. 

But  General  French  was  not  the  only  English  *'hero'*  who 
disgraced  his  name  in  this  cruel  war.  The  great  fieldmarshall 
Kitchener  did  likewise  by  dragging  women  and  children  of  the 
fighting  Boers  from  their  homes  and  imprisoning  these  poor 
defenseless  creatures  in  the  so  called  concentration  camps. 

During  the  month  of  September  1901  there  were  38,022 
women  and  54,326  children  under  Kitcheners  tender  care. 
As  Henry  Labouchere,  then  editor  of  the  "London  Truth," 
has  stated,  20,000  of  these  hapless  women  and  children 
perished.  The  "London  Daily  News"  of  November  9th  said: 
"The  truth  is  that  the  death  rate  in  these  concentration  camps 
is  incomparably  worse  than  anything  Africa  or  Asia  can  show. 
There  is  nothing  to  match  it  even  in  the  mortality  figures  of  the 
Indian  famines,  where  cholera  and  other  epidemics  have  to  be 
contended  with."  And  Reynold's  Newspaper  (London)  of 
October  20th  1901  speaks  of  the  women  and  children 
"perishing  like  flies  from  confinement,  fever,  bad  food, 
pestilential  stinks  and  lack  of  nursing  in  these  awful  death- 
traps." 

Kitchener,  who  earned  during  this  war  the  epithets  "the 
butcher"  and  "the  blood-hound,"  gave  together  with  the  late 
Lord  Roberts  the  order,  that,  wherever  Boers  fired  at  military 
trains  "all  the  farms  should  be  burned  within  a  radius  of  ten 
miles." 

The  manner  in  which  this  order  was  complied  with,  is 
illustrated  by  a  letter  written  by  Leutenant  Morrison,  of  the 
Canadian  Artillery,  and  published  in  the  "London  Truth." 
From  his  account  of  the  sacking  of  Dullstroom  we  quote  the 
following  lines: 

"During  the  track  our  progress  was  like  the  old-time  forays 


—     30     — 

in  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  two  centuries  ago.  We  moved 
on  from  valley  to  valley  lifting  cattle  and  sheep,  burning,  loot- 
ing, and  turning  out  the  women  and  children  to  sit  and  weep 
in  despair  beside  the  ruins  of  their  once  beautiful  farmsteads. 
It  was  the  first  touch  of  Kitchener  s  iron  hand — a  terrible 
thing  to  witness.  We  burned  a  track  about  six  miles  wide 
through  those  fertile  valleys.  The  column  left  a  trail  of  fire 
and  smoke  behind  it  that  could  be  seen  at  Belfast.  .  .  . 

"Nobody  who  was  there  will  ever  forget  that  day's  work. 
About  7  o'clock  in  the  morning  our  force  seized  the  town  after 
a  little  fight.  The  Boers  went  into  the  surrounding  hills,  and 
there  was  nobody  in  the  town  except  women  and  children.  It 
was  a  very  pretty  place  nestling  in  a  valley.  The  houses  had 
lovely  flower  gardens  and  the  roses  were  in  bloom.  The  Boers 
drove  in  our  outposts  on  the  flank  and  began  sniping  the 
guns,  and  amid  the  row  of  the  cannonade  and  the  crackle  of 
rifle  fire  the  sacking  of  the  place  began.  First  there  was  an 
ominous  bluish  haze  over  the  town,  and  then  the  smoke  rolled 
up  in  volumes  that  could  be  seen  for  fifty  miles  away.  The 
Boers  on  the  hills  seemed  paralyzed  by  the  sight  and  stopped 
shooting.  The  town  was  very  quiet  save  for  the  roaring  and 
crackle  of  the  flames.  On  the  steps  of  the  church  a  group  of 
women  and  children  were  huddled.  The  women's  faces  were 
very  white,  but  some  of  them  had  spots  of  red  on  either  cheeks, 
and  their  eyes  were  blazing.  The  troops  were  systematically 
'looking  the  place  over*  (looting),  and  as  they  got  quite 
through  with  each  house  they  burned  it.  As  I  stood  looking, 
a  woman  turned  to  me  and  pathetically  exclaimed:  *Oh,  how 
can  you  be  so  cruel!'  I  sympathized  with  her  and  explained 
that  it  was  an  order  and  had  to  be  obeyed.  But  all  the  same 
it  was  an  extremely  sad  sight  to  see  the  little  homes  burning 
and  the  rose  bushes  withering  up  in  the  pretty  garden,  and  the 
pathetic  groups  of  homeless  and  distressed  women  and  little 
children  weeping  in  abject  misery  and  despair  among  the 
smoking  ruins  as  we  rode  away." 

Such  is  the  sad  story  told  by  an  officer  of  the  British  army. 
Nothing  remains  for  us,  but  to  ask  if  men,  who  do  not  show 
courage  enough  to  resist  against  their  degradation,  to  hang- 
man's assistants,  have  any  claim  to  the  title  soldier,  a  name,  that 
should  mean  a  "defender  of  the  right,  a  protector  of  homes 
and  the  weak." 

A  brief  extract  from  a  letter,  written  by  President  Steyn,  of 
the  Orange  Free  State,  to  Kitchener,  in  August  1901,  throws 
strong  light  on  the  behavior  of  the  British  defenders: 

"Your  Excellency's  troops  have  not  hesitated  to  turn  their 


—     31     — 

artillery  on  these  defenseless  women  and  children  to  capture 
them  when  they  were  fleeing  with  their  wagons  or  alone,  whilst 
your  troops  knew  that  they  were  only  women  and  children, 
as  happened  only  recently  at  Gras-pan  on  the  6th  of  June  near 
Reitz,  where  a  woman  and  children  laager  was  captured  and 
retaken  by  us  whilst  your  Excellency's  troops  took  refuge  be- 
hind the  women;  and  when  reinforcements  came  they  fired 
with  artillery  and  small  arms  on  that  woman  laager.  I  can 
mention  hundreds  of  cases  of  this  kind,"   etc. 

In  the  pictures,  produced  by  the  "Illustrated  London  News," 
the  "Graphic"  and  other  English  periodicals,  we  don't  see 
Tom  Atkins,  as  he  is  in  reality,  but  as  he  lives  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  Mr.  Caton  Woodville  and  other  artists,  who  draw  their 
vivid  war  sketches  not  on  the  battlefield,  but  in  their  much 
more  comfortable  studios. 

To  return  to  the  Boers,  the  whole  world  knows,  that  after 
a  heroic  resistance  they  were  finally  overwhelmed  and 
their  land  annexed. — Again  the  blood=tainted  crown  of  Eng- 
land was  enriched  with  some  scintillating  jewels,  though  the 
robbing  of  them  had  cost  the  blood,  tears  and  welfare  of  thou- 
sands of  happy  and  peaceloving  families. 

England,  the  False  Friend  of  the  United  States. 

Hardly  had  England  thrown  France  out  of  her  rich  colonial 
possessions  in  North  America  when  her  greedy  merchants 
forced  the  Parliament  to  forbid  settlers  in  English  colonies  to 
keep  up  trade-relations  with  any  non-British  countries.  They 
should  be  forced  to  obtain  all  their  necessities  from  the  "moth- 
er land"  and  deliver  their  own  products  to  the  same.  In  other 
words:  it  was  demanded  of  them,  to  buy  their  necessities  in 
England  from  British  shopkeepers  at  often  usurious  prices,  and 
sell  their  own  goods  to  those  same  shopkeepers  for  whatever 
these  were  willing  to  offer.  That  these  offers  were  always  way 
below  prices  paid  by  other  countries  in  free  competition  goes 
without  saying.  It  was  this  very  law  which  was  one  of  the 
causes  of  the  Revolutionary  War  of  the  English  colonies  of 
North  America.  To  suppress  this  revolution  the  mother  land 
employed  the  vilest  means.  She  committed  the  most  atrocious 
crime  when  she  engaged  the  Indians  as  allies  and  used  them 
against  her  own  subjects.  The  redskins  were  hired  to  accom- 
plish a  double  task.  It  was  expected  of  them  to  destroy 
Western  settlements  and  at  the  same  time  to  attack  the  colon- 
ists in  the  rear,  while  they  were  engaged  in  repulsing  the  at- 
tacks of  the  British  from  the  coast.  By  this  arrangement  the 
British  intended  to  compel  the  Americans    to    split    up    their 


—     32     — 

forces.  To  crown  the  infamy  and  inflame  the  bloodthirstiness 
of  the  Indians  a  prize  of  $8.  was  offered  for  every  American 
scalp,  be  it  of  man,  woman  or  child.  Nothing  further  was 
needed  to  stimulate  the  savages  to  the  wildest  blood-orgies. 
In  small  troops  and  large  bands  they  roamed  all  over  the  bor- 
der territories,  attacked  every  settlement  and  committed  the 
most  atrocious  massacres.  To  accomplish  this  work  of  de- 
struction the  British  secured  the  assistance  of  the  powerful 
chief  of  the  Iroquois:  Thayendanegea  or  Joseph  Brandt,  who 
devastated  with  his  warriors  mainly  the  western  parts  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  Burned  houses,  barns  and  stables, 
ruined  fields,  the  corpses  of  scalped  men,  ravished  women  and 
murdered  children  marked  the  track  of  the  redskins.  And  in 
the  commission  of  these  crimes,  British  officers  and  soldiers  as 
well  as  loyal  Tories  from  these  localities  lent  helping  hands. 

As  is  well  known  England  used  for  the  war  against  the 
Americans  also  soldiers  which  they  had  hired  at  great  expense 
in  Germany,  the  Hessians.  This  proceeding  found  even  in 
England  severe  critics.  Chatham  declared  in  Parliament: 
"Were  I  as  good  an  American  as  I  am  an  Englishman  and  had 
to  behold  how  a  foreign  army  appeared  in  my  own  country 
I  would  never  lie  down  my  arms — never!"  These  words  ex- 
press precisely  the  deep  revolt  of  all  Americans,  upon  hearing 
that  for  their  suppression  England  had  enlisted  foreign  hire- 
lings. But  the  Americans  soon  had  occasion  to  get  enraged 
over  still  other  British  treacheries. 

When  Congress  attempted  to  meet  the  prevailing  lack  of 
currency  by  the  issue  of  paper  money  the  perfidious  Britishers 
used  this  circumstance  to  increase  the  terrible  difficulties  of  the 
Americans.  They  turned  counterfeiters,  imitated  the  notes  is- 
sued by  Congress  and  brought  enormous  numbers  of  those  fal- 
sifications in  circulation.  This  brought  the  paper  money  in 
such  discredit  that  everybody  shied  from  accepting  it.  The 
depreciation  in  the  value  of  the  paper  money  increased  to  such 
a  degree  that  forty  paper  dollars  were  necessary  to  buy  one 
silver  dollar.  A  pair  of  boots  cost  400 — 600  paper  dollars, 
and  the  monthly  wages  of  a  soldier  was  just  sufficient  to  buy 
one  dinner.  That,  in  spite  of  all  these  dreadful  obstacles,  the 
Independence  of  the  Colonies  was  established,  is  the  merit  of 
the  heroism  of  the  colonists,  the  admirable  devotion  of  George 
Washington  and  of  the  patriots  who  surrounded  him.  And 
last  not  least,  the  co=operation  of  such  true  champions  of  lib- 
erty as  Steuben,  Kalb,  Herchheimer,  Miihlenberg,  Lafayette 
and  many  others.  And  hereby  was  fulfilled  a  prediction  made 
by  Napoleon  when  in   1  803  circumstances  compelled  him  to 


—     33     — 

sell  Louisiana  to  the  United  States:  "The  English  want  to  grab 
the  riches  and  the  commerce  of  all  the  world.  To  free  the 
nations  from  England's  unbearable  commercial  tyranny  it  is 
necessary  to  balance  its  influence  by  a  maritime  power  which 
will  be  able  to  wrest  their  commercial  supremacy  from  them. 
If  I  strengthen  the  position  of  the  United  States  by  the  cession 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  then  England  will  find  a  rival  who, 
earlier  or  later,  will  dampen  her  arrogance." — 

That  the  prophetic  words  of  the  far  seeing  Corsican  might 
be  fulfilled,  became  evident  to  England  by  the  fast  growing 
commerce  of  the  United  States.  Therefore  England  left  noth- 
ing undone  to  get  rid  of  this  new  rival  in  the  world's  commerce 
and  to  sustain  all  movements  that  might  bring  about  a  disrup- 
tion of  the  Union.  The  war  of  1812  to  1814  meant  the  first 
attempt  for  the  annihiliation  of  the  Union.  While  the  English 
fleet  carried  on  the  war  at  the  coast  shelling  the  American  sea- 
ports, the  commanders  of  the  land  forces  again  engaged  the 
redskins  to  attack  the  Americans  in  the  rear.  The  incessant 
incitement  of  the  English  agents  succeeded  in  uniting  all  tribes 
of  the  Northwest  into  one  great  anti-American  alliance,  which 
was  led  by  Tecumseh,  the  famous  war  chief  of  the  Shawnees. 
Death  and  destruction  in  their  most  terrific  forms  ruled  again 
over  all  border  lands.  The  year  1812  passed  luckily  for  the 
English.  On  water  and  land  the  Americans  suffered  heavy 
defeats.  Michigan  was  lost  and  all  western  settlements  were 
ravished  terribly. 

In  the  two  following  years  the  struggle  went  on  with  vary- 
ing success.  In  August  1814  the  British  took  Washington, 
burned  the  Capitol,  the  White  House  and  numerous  other  pub- 
lic buildings.  Of  course,  they  did  not  forget  to  destroy  also 
all  American  ships  on  the  Potomac.  But  the  enraged  resistance 
which  the  British  found  in  Baltimore  and  elsewhere,  finally 
brought  about  the  peace  of  Ghent  (Dec.  24,  1  81  4),  the  centen- 
ary of  which  Americans  were  impudently  invited  to  celebrate. 

How  little  reason  America  had  for  such  a  celebration  should 
be  evident  to  its  promoters  when  they  bring  home  to  their 
mind  that  the  secret  and  open  intrigues  of  England  against  the 
States  have  never  ceased  and  that,  in  the  heart  of  the  English 
shopkeepers  now,  as  ever,  glows  the  ardent  wish  to  sweep 
away  this  successful  rival  as  they  did  the  others. — Stimulated 
by  this  desire  and  to  hasten  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  Eng- 
land, at  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Civil  War  solemnly 
proclaimed  her  neutrality,  while  secretly  it  was  a  confederate 
of  the  Confederacy.  She  assisted  the  slaveholders  by  every 
means  in  ker  power,  recognized  them  officially  as  a  belligerent 


—     34     — 

nation,  by  this  strengthening  their  cause  and  position  material- 
ly. More  than  that  I  She  allowed  that  recruiting  stations  were 
opened  all  over  Great  Britain  for  the  Confederacy.  She  sub- 
scribed for  immense  numbers  of  the  bonds  of  the  Southern. 
States.  She  smuggled  arms,  ammunition  and  all  kinds  of  con- 
traband of  war  to  the  Confederates,  enabling  them  to  continue 
the  struggle.  She  permitted  her  own  consuls  in  the  Northern 
States  to  act  as  spies  for  the  South.  She  established  in  London 
a  press  bureau  for  the  dissemination  of  false  reports,  which 
spread  wholesale  rumors  of  rebel  victories  and  pernicious  lies 
about  Lincoln  and  the  Union,  just  as  the  London  press  bureaus 
do  to-day  about  the  Kaiser  and  the  successes  of  the  Allies. 

Furthermore,  England  allowed  her  newspapers  to  express 
openly  the  hope  "that  the  Union  ,the  great  snake,  might  be  cut 
in  two  by  the  war  and  rendered  powerless."  And  last  but  not 
least,  England  not  only  opened  her  ports  to  the  southern  pir- 
ate craft,  but  violated  the  neutrality  laws  by  building,  equip- 
ping and  manning  a  number  of  southern  privateers,  among 
them  the  "Alabama,"  "Florida,"  "Shenandoah,"  "Tallaha- 
see,"  "Nashville"  and  others,  which  served  as  commerce  de- 
stroyers. 

Burning  and  sinking  all  prizes,  these  destroyers  swept  all 
merchant  vessels  of  the  Union  from  the  ocean,  during  the  war, 
causing  a  loss  of  over  $1  7,000,000.  They  damaged  the  over- 
sea trade  of  the  United  States  so  grievously,  that,  since  it  has 
never  recovered  its  former  prominence. 

But  England  had  to  pay  for  her  treacheries.  After  the  war 
was  over  the  States  demanded  indemnity  for  the  destruction, 
committed  by  these  privateers.  A  court  of  arbitration,  sitting  in 
Geneva,  found  England  guilty  of  the  charges  and  sentenced  it 
to  pay  to  the  States  $15,500,000.  Any  one  eager  for  more 
information  on  this  subject,  may  find  it  by  studying  the  trans- 
actions of  the  "Alabama  Claims." — 

Numerous  acts  of  more  recent  date  leave  us  suspicious  as  to 
England's  true  sentiments  toward  our  Union.  With  France  it 
persuaded  the  Austrian  Archduke  Maximilian  to  the  calami- 
tious  attempt  to  establish  an  empire  in  Mexico,  hoping  there= 
by  to  kill  the  Monroe  Doctrine  and  to  create  for  the  States  a 
neighbor  who  might  some  day  become  very  inconvenient. — 
Furthermore  England  caused  the  United  States  endless 
troubles  and  cares  in  the  Venezuela  controversy,  in  the  ques- 
tions regarding  the  Alaskan  boundaries  and  the  Bering  Sea 
fisheries;  in  Mexico,  in  the  present  European  war  and  in  many 
other  instances. 

What  future  plans  England  may  have  in  regard  to  the  Pana- 


—     35     — 

ma  Canal  is  hidden  in  the  folds  of  the  future.  Just  as  England's 
shrewd  diplomatists  tried  to  get  the  better  of  the  States  in  all 
treaties  concerning  the  Canal  it  can  hardly  be  assumed  that 
during  the  last  decenniums  it  has  strengthened  its  fortifications 
on  the  Bermudas,  in  Jamaica  and  elsewhere  simply  for  the 
sake  of  a  passing  whim.  Indeed,  with  these  strongholds  in 
the  East  and  South  of  the  States,  with  Canada  in  the  North 
and  Japan  as  ally  in  the  West,  John  Bull  might  some  day  get 
Brother  Jonathan  in  a  tight  hole. 

If  especially  favorable  political  constellation  were  ever  to 
come,  John  Bull  would  hardly  remember  his  pet-phrases: 
*'Hands  across  the  sea"  and  "Blood  is  thicker  than  water," 
which  are  now  used  after  every  meal  and  at  bed-time  by  our 
anglophil  Depews  and,  also  by  some  degenerated  American 
diplomatists,  who  misrepresent  our  United  States. 


Germany's  wonderful  rise  and  suc- 
cess, the  real  cause  for  Englands 
present  war. 

As  it  is  evident  from  the  irrefutable  historical  facts  of  the 
former  chapter,  no  nation,  notwithstanding  the  high  position 
she  may  have  obtained  in  culture,  intellectual  and  material 
wealth,  will  escape  the  envy  and  greed  of  England.  Indeed, 
the  more  such  nation  prospers,  the  more  her  efforts  in  in- 
dustries and  commerce  are  crowned  with  success,  the  surer 
she  will  incite  England's  ill  will,  envy  and  hate.  Especially 
if  that  nation  has  a  fleet  and  dares  to  compete  with  John  Bull 
on  the  high  seas,  which  he  regards  as  his  sole  monopoly. 

Of  this  discouraging  fact  modern  Germany  is  another 
example,  though  the  marvellous  rise  of  that  country,  under 
most  averse  conditions,  should  be  regarded  as  the  great 
wonder  of  our  present  time  and  admired  and  imitated  by  all. — 

When,  in  1909,  McClure's  Magazine  published  a  serie 
of  articles  about  the  strained  relations  between  England  and 
Germany,  I  wrote  for  that  magazine  an  essay  "Modern 
Germany  —  an  object  lesson."  As  this  article,  published  in  the 
December  number,  is  still  true  to-day,  it  is,  with  kind  per- 
mission of  McClure's  Publishing  Co.,  here  partly  reprinted 
again.  A  few  additions  have  been  made  and  statistic  figures 
brought  up  to  date. 

Why  Germany  has  a  Powerful  Army  and  Navy. 

To  understand  the  conditions  of  Germany,  we  must  first 
of  all  take  a  glance  at  her  geographical  position  and  her  his- 
tory. In  doing  this,  we  soon  find,  that  there  never  has  been 
a  country  in  the  world,  that,  in  political  respects,  is  so  un- 
favorably located  as  Germany.  Nowhere  protected  by  such 
natural  boundaries  as  large  rivers  or  high  mountain  ranges, 
but  easily  accessible  and  vulnerable  on  both  sides,  Germany 
has  been,  from  remotest  times,  the  object  of  hostile  assaults. 

For  a  period  of  several  hundred  years  the  German  tribes 
were  compelled  to  defend  their  independence  from  the 
Romans,  who  under  Caesar,  Drusus,  Tiberius,  Varus  and  other 


—     37     — 

commanders  invaded  Germany  and  subjugated  all  the  land 
south  of  the  Danube  and  west  of  the  Rhine.  Only  with  great 
efforts  were  the  Germans  able  to  hold  their  own  against  these 
powerful  and  cunning  enemies. 

Later,  in  375  A.  D.,  came  the  horrible  assaults  by  the 
Huns.  The  pressure  of  their  enormous  bands  of  riders  was 
so  immense  that  several  nations,  among  them  the  Alans,  Goths, 
Vandals,  Longobards  and  Burgundi  were  compelled  to  leave 
their  grounds  and  to  seek  new  homes  elsewhere.  In  history 
this  period  is  known  as  the  "time  of  migration  of  the  nations.** 
The  Huns  overflooded  all  Southern  Russia,  Hungary,  Austria, 
Southern  Germany  and  a  part  of  Gallia,  until  they  were  defeat* 
ed  in  45  1  on  the  Catalaunian  fields. 

The  terrible  sufferings,  caused  by  these  barbarians,  were 
not  yet  forgotten,  when  during  the  9th  and  1 0th  centuries 
great  invasions  of  Slavs,  Hungarians  and  Northmen  took  place. 
The  Northmen  in  their  Dragon  boats  made  their  way  up  the 
rivers,  ravaging  many  cities,  which  lay  far  inland,  as  for 
instance  Cologne,  Coblenz  and  Treves.  The  terror,  spread 
by  these  daring  pirates,  was  so  great,  that  in  all  churches  people 
prayed:  "God,  save  us  from  the  Northmen!** 

Although  the  Slavs  and  Hungarians  met  several  dreadful 
defeats  on  German  soil,  they  nevertheless  attacked  the  country 
again  and  again,  until  they  were  fiercely  fought  in  the  battle  on 
the  Lech,  near  Augsburg,  in  955. 

In  the  1 0th  and  1 3th  centuries  occured  also  several 
invasions  of  the  Mongols,  and  in  1529  and  1683  Austria  was 
attacked  by  the  Turks,  who  even  assaulted  Vienna. 

The  most  dreadful  catastrophe  in  history  was,  however, 
the  Thirty  Years  War.  (1618 — 1648).  During  this  time 
Germany  served  as  the  great  battle  ground  for  Spanish, 
Italian,  Swedish,  Dutch,  Hungarian  and  French  troops,  who 
reduced  the  population  from  seventeen  to  four  millions  and 
made  the  country  an  almost  uninhabitable  desert.  In  Bohemia 
the  population  was  diminished  from  3  millions  to  780,000.  In 
Saxony,  during  the  two  years  1631  and  1632,  943,000  per- 
sons were  killed  or  swept  away  by  sickness.  In  Wurttemberg 
over  500,000  lost  their  lives.  The  Palatinate,  having  a  popu- 
lation of  500,000,  suffered  a  loss  of  457,000;  and  in  some 
parts  of  Thuringia  ninety  per  cent,  of  all  people  perished. 
Hundreds  of  cities,  towns,  villages  and  castles  were  laid  in 
ashes.  In  these  times,  Alsace  and  Lorraine  were  appropriated 
by  France. 

All  terrors  of  these  calamitous  times  were  lived  over 
again,  when,  at  the  end  of  the  1  7th  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 


— .     38     — 

I  8th  centuries,  the  armies  of  Louis  XIV.,  without  declaration 
of  war,  raided  the  countries  along  the  Rhine,  especially  the 
Palatinate.  The  devastation  was  frightful.  Heidelberg,  Mann- 
heim, Speier,  Worms  and  many  other  places  were  burned  by 
the  French  soldiers,  who  left  the  ruins  of  hundreds  of  beautiful 
castles  on  the  Rhine,  Moselle,  and  Neckar,  among  them  that 
of  Heidelberg,  as  lasting  monuments  of  their  visits. 

From  1  756  to  I  763  raged  the  Seven  Years  War,  in  which 
France,  Russia,  Poland,  Sweden,  Saxony  and  Austria  intended 
to  divide  the  Kingdom  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

Only  42  years  later  came  the  onslaught  of  that  mon- 
strous adventurer  Napoleon  I.,  by  whom  Germany  was 
humiliated  as  never  before.  The  whole  country  was  subjected 
to  systematic  plundering.  The  imperial  mantle  was  torn  into 
shreds  and  stamped  into  the  dust.  The  German  kingdoms 
and  states  were  given  by  Napoleon  as  presents  to  his  relatives 
and  brothers,  who  made  the  German  cities  ring  with  their  gay 
life. 

During  the  further  course  of  the  1 9th  century  Germany 
was  compelled  to  fight  three  more  attacks  on  its  integrity.  In 
1  849  and  1  864  it  prevented  the  annexation  of  Schleswig-Hol- 
stein  by  Denmark. 

In  1867  she  resisted  the  demands  of  Napoleon  III.,  who 
held  himself  entitled  to  Belgium,  Luxemburg,  the  Palatinate 
and  a  part  of  Hesse,  as  "a  compensation  for  Sadowa." 

In  1870  the  German  troops  were  forced  to  restrain  the 
French  armies  from  the  proposed  "p^^o^nenade  a  Berlin"  and 
the  desire  of  Napoleon,  to  make  the  Rhine  the  boundary  be- 
tween France  and  Germany. 

After  that  it  was  the  attitude  of  the  "Revanche  Party" 
in  France,  and  many  other  circumstances  that  caused  unrest 
and  suspicion. 

Now,  would  any  nation  ignore  the  lessons,  taught  by  her 
dangerous  location  and  such  a  terrible  past?  The  enormous 
losses  she  had  suffered,  compelled  Germany  to  take  steps 
by  which  a  repetition  of  such  dreadful  calamities  might  be 
prevented.  In  order  to  protect  her  borders  from  further 
hostile  invasions,  and  to  enforce  peace  at  any  price,  Germany 
made  her  army  not  only  one  of  the  most  powerful,  but  at  the 
same  time  the  most  efficient  in  the  world.  This  army  was 
intended  to  impress  upon  all  opponents  the  warning,  that 
further  assaults  on  the  empire  could  not  be  committed  without 
grave  danger. 

The  blockade  of  the  German  coasts  by  the  Fresch  fleet  in 
1870,  the  unreasonable  holding  up  of  German  mail-steamers 


—     39     — 

during  England's  war  with  the  Boers,  and  finally,  the  establish- 
ment of  colonies  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  awakened 
Germany  to  the  necessity  of  having  an  effective  navy  for  the 
defense  of  her  coasts  and  the  protection  of  her  merchant 
marine  and  the  colonies. 

Plans  for  the  formation  of  a  navy  had  been  in  existence 
since  1873.  But  it  remained  for  Emperor  William  II.,  to  carry 
out  the  program.  It  was  he  who  expounded  to  the  nation  that, 
to  secure  peace  and  some  place  in  the  sunshine,  it  must  work 
to  get  a  fleet.  His  urgent  requests  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  the 
German  people  a  resounding  echo.  The  Flottenverein  sprang 
into  existence  and  spread  all  over  the  Empire.  East  and  west, 
north  and  south,  the  cities  and  the  country,  rich  and  poor, 
combined  their  endeavors  and  contributed  so  freely  that  the 
German  navy,  amounting  at  the  beginning  of  the  Emperor's 
reign  to  only  a  few  insufficient  vessels,  became  the  second 
among  the  great  navies  of  the  world.  So,  making  army  and 
navy  the  strong  foundations,  upon  which  the  structure  of  the 
new  Empire  could  safely  rest,  the  German  nation  developed 
the  country  in  a  thousand  directions  at  the  same  time.  By 
grasping  all  opportunities,  by  spurring  the  abilities  of  every 
individual,  the  nation  succeeded  in  building  up  a  state  that  in 
many  respects  served  as  an  object  lesson  to  other  nations. 

The  New  Policy  Transformed  Germany   from    a    Poor   to   a 

Rich  Nation. 

Before  the  reign  of  William  I.  Germany  was  a  poor 
country  struggling  under  most  adverse  conditions.  The  many 
wounds  inflicted  by  the  Thirty  Years'  War  and  the  assaults 
of  the  French  were  slow  to  heal.  The  meager  soil,  especially 
of  northern  Germany,  allowed  to  its  occupants  only  a  frugal 
existence.  The  industries  were  undeveloped  and  their 
situation  unfavorable,  as  almost  all  raw  materials  had  to  be 
imported  from  other  countries  at  great  cost.  The  commerce 
with  foreign  lands  was  handicapped  everywhere.  Germany 
was  without  any  natural  harbor,  and  the  few  ports  were  often 
frozen  for  many  weeks.  Those  upon  the  Baltic  were  cut  off 
from  the  ocean  by  Denmark,  which,  until  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  levied  "sound  dues"  upon  all  vessels  entering  and 
leaving  the  Baltic  Sea.  And,  last  but  not  least.  Great  Britain 
tried  to  scarce  the  Germans  from  the  ocean  by  refusing  to 
acknowledge  a  German  flag,  and  by  giving  the  warning,  in 
1  849,  that  she  would  treat  it  as  the  flag  of  a  pirate. 

But  commercial  expansion    was    a    necessity    to    prevent 


—     40     — 

national  stagnation.  The  country  became  unable  to  sustain  the 
ever-growing  population.  And  so,  after  the  new  Empire  had 
been  established,  the  Government  took  steps  to  extend  in- 
dustries and  trade  far  enough  to  enable  the  people  to  live.  The 
magnitude  of  this  task  becomes  clear  when  we  state  that  in 
1871,  the  year  of  the  founding  of  the  Empire,  Germany 
measured  only  208,830  square  miles,  or  56,950  less  than 
Texas.  Upon  this  limited  space  it  had  to  sustain  a  population 
of  forty-one  millions.  Since  that  time  the  population  increased 
to  66  millions  in  1914,  and  was  growing  almost  at  the  rate  of 
a  million  a  year. 

But  Germany  was  always  fortunate  as  to  possess  a  large 
number  of  broad  minded  patriotic  men  of  all  classes,  willing 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  interests  of  the  nation.  First,  there 
were  many  excellent  scientists,  who  carefully  studied  the 
opportunities  of  the  nation  and  taught  the  people  to  make  use 
of  them.  Then,  there  was  a  large  corps  of  brilliant  statesmen 
and  well-educated  officials,  forming  perhaps  the  most  scientific 
and  expert  governmental  organization  in  existence.  Not  sub- 
jected to  the  dictations  of  political  parties  and  bosses,  entirely 
free  from  graft  and  corruption,  these  men  worked  solely  for 
the  benefit  of  the  nation.  Directing  their  minds  and  energies 
to  a  solution  of  the  many  difficulties,  they  overcame  them  so 
successfully  that  Germany,  poor  before,  became  one  of  the 
wealthiest  countries  on  the  globe,  and  perhaps  the  richest  in 
Europe,  not  excepting  France  and  Great  Britain. 

Authorities  in  national  economics,  as  Professor  Delbriick, 
Sydow,  and  Steinmann  Bucher,  estimated  that  the  national 
wealth  of  Great  Britain  amounted  in  1910  to  300.000,000,000 
marks,  while  that  of  Germany  was  about  350,000,000,000 
marks.  This  result,  almost  beyond  belief,  was  reached  within 
the  short  space  of  an  average  lifetime.  Let  us  see  how  the 
Germans  did  it. 

How  the  Germans  Have  Increased  Their  Forests. 

First  of  all,  by  making  wise  use  of  the  natural  resources 
of  the  country,  such  as  forests,  water,  soil,  and  minerals.  These 
means,  compared  with  those  of  other  countries,  especially  of 
the  United  States,  are  not  abundant,  but  limited.  This  fact 
compelled  the  nation  to  apply  the  same  methods  of  business 
economy  to  the  use  of  these  resources  that  are  applied  by  a 
wise  merchant  to  his  operations  in  trade.  The  importance  of 
the  forests  to  the  welfare  of  the  entire  country  being  realized, 
the  greatest  attention  was  paid  throughout  the  Empire  to  forest 
culture.     Originating  from  tribes  that  from  remote  times  dwelt 


—    41     — 

in  forests,  the  Germans  were  always  a  tree-loving  people.  Fully 
understanding  the  significance  of  the  situation,  they  assisted 
the  Government  in  its  efforts  to  save  a  proper  amount  of 
forests.  And  this  explains  the  fact  that  Germany  has  a  far 
greater  proportion  of  woodlands  than  any  other  State  in 
western  and  southern  Europe.  Its  forests  cover  approximately 
35,000,000  acres,  of  which  31,9  per  cent,  belong  to  the  State, 
while  68. 1    are  private  property. 

From  a  leaflet  distributed  in  1909  by  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  I  quote  the  following: 

"Forest  experts  of  all  nationalities  agree  that  Germany 
is  in  an  enviable  position  as  regards  her  lumber  supply.  No 
nation  in  the  world  makes  more  thorough  utilization  of  its 
forest  resources.  German  forestry  is  remarkable  in  three  ways: 
it  has  always  led  in  scientific  thoroughness,  and  now  it  is  work- 
ing out  results  with  an  exactness  almost  equal  to  that  of  the 
laboratory;  it  has  applied  this  scientific  knowledge  with  the 
greatest  technical  success;  and  it  has  solved  the  problem  of 
securing,  through  a  long  series  of  years,  an  increasing  forest 
output  and  increasing  profits  at  the  same  time.  Starting  with 
forests  that  were  in  as  bad  a  shape  as  many  of  our  own  cut-over 
areas,  Germany  raised  the  average  yield  of  wood  per  acre 
from  twenty  cubic  feet  in  1830  to  seventy =five  cubic  feet  in 
1908.  During  the  same  period  it  trebled  the  proportion  of 
saw  timber  secured  from  the  average  cut,  which  means,  in  other 
words,  that  through  the  practice  of  forestry  the  timberlands 
of  Germany  are  of  three  times  better  quality  to-day  than  when 
no  system  was  used.  In  a  little  over  half  a  century  it  increased 
the  money  returns  from  a  average  of  forest  sevenfold,  and 
to-day  the  forests  are  in  better  condition  than  ever  before." 

The  kingdom  of  Prussia  alone  gets  out  of  her  cultivated 
forests  over  100,000,000  marks  net  a  year. 

No  Deserted  Farms  in  Germany. 

The  policy  of  conservation  that  made  German  forestry 
such  a  success  is  applied  also  to  agriculture.  As  we  have 
stated  before,  Germany  is  not  at  all  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey.  In  enormous  parts  of  northern  Germany  the  soil 
is  decidedly  poor.  With  that  of  the  United  States  it  cannot 
compare  at  all.  But  proper  care  did  wonders.  While  the 
methods  of  farming  used  by  many  Americans  have  resulted  in 
the  utter  decline  of  good  land  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  the 
farm-lands  of  Germany,  even  though  they  have  been  under 
cultivation  for  centuries,  brin^  forth  rich  crops  year  in  and 
year  out 


—     42     — 

Mr.  James  Hill,  one  of  the  most  noted  experts  on  land 
affairs,  at  the  famous  Governor's  Conference  in  1908,  made 
the  remarkable  statement  that  the  soil  of  America,  once  the 
envy  of  every  other  country,  gave  during  the  ten  years  begin- 
ning with  1  896  an  average  yield  of  ]  3.5  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  while  Germany  produced  27.6.  For  the  same  decade  the 
yield  of  oats  was  in  America  less  than  30  bushels,  in  Germany 
46.  For  barley  the  figures  were  25  against  33,  and  for  rye 
15.4  against  24. 

In  1912  Germany  produced  per  acre  29  bushels  of  rye, 
34  bushels  of  wheat,  and  220  bushels  of  potatoes. 

Deserted  farms,  which,  as  a  result  of  soil  exhaustion,  can 
be  found  all  over  the  eastern  half  of  the  United  States,  are 
absolutely  unknown  in  Germany. 

A  number  of  years  ago  Germany  also  began  to  cultivate 
its  hitherto  unproductive  waste  lands,  such  as  marshes,  heaths, 
etc.,  of  which  it  has  about  12,000  square  miles.  It  has  been 
so  successful  that  in  time  it  will  by  this  peaceful  conquest  not 
only  double  its  present  area  of  wheat-land,  but  also  provide 
ample  living  for  many  hundred  thousand  families.  The  Liine- 
burg  Heath,  an  immense  tract  of  moreland  in  northeastern 
Hanover,  has  already  to  a  great  extent  become  a  thing  of  the 
past.  Its  former  monotony  has  given  place  to  pleasant  vistas 
of  flourishing  little  farms,  that  nestle  upon  the  banks  of  clear 
brooks  among  beautiful  trees. 

In  mining,  the  Germans  take  great  care  to  reduce  the 
waste  to  a  minimum.  In  America  it  has  been  customary  to 
remove  only  the  best  parts  of  the  total  deposits  of  coal  and 
minerals,  while  inferior  qualities  and  such  portions  as  can  be 
less  easily  mined  are  never  touched.  Very  frequently  the  lowest 
richest  beds  are  taken  out  first,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
overlaying  strata  cave  in,  which  makes  subsequent  mining 
forever  impossible.  By  these  methods  from  forty  to  seventy 
per  cent  of  the  total  deposits  are  left  unmined. 

German  Mines  Saved  by  an  American  Invention. 

Nothing  of  this  kind  happens  in  Germany.  Everything 
is  removed.  And,  to  prevent  cave  ins,  every  worked-out  mine 
is  filled  up  with  sludge,  tailings,  and  sand,  mixed  with  water 
and  pumped  through  pipes  into  the  exhausted  places,  where 
they  harden  into  a  compact  mass  and  support  the  overlaying 
strata.  By  the  appliance  of  this  "flushing  method"  —  an 
American  invention — the  miner  is  able  to  remove  all  pillars 
of  coal  or  ore,  which  formerly  he  was  obliged  to  leave  stand- 
ing as  a  support  for  the  upper  strata.      He  may  also  attack 


—     43     — 

lower  beds  without  fear  of  being  killed.  Germany,  wishing 
to  make  use  of  its  mines  as  extensively  as  possible,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  prosperity  of  mining  for  the  future,  applies  this  flush- 
ing method  everywhere,  while  the  Americans,  in  their  eager- 
ness to  get  rich  quickly,  make  only  a  limited  use  of  their  own 
invention.  Germany  produced  in  1885  only  67  million  tons 
of  coal,  in  1912  235  million  tons. 

In  using  the  most  valuable  of  all  natural  resources,  water, 
Germany  is,  of  course,  not  behind  any  other  progressive 
country.  It  has  already  numbers  of  Talsperren  for  the  storage 
of  drinking  water  as  well  as  water  for  the  use  of  power. 
Especially  the  great  industrial  region  of  western  Germany, 
in  the  valley  of  Rhur  and  Wupper.  Many  others  in  all  parts  of 
the  Empire  are  under  construction,  and  will  produce  millions 
of  horse-power  for  industrial  purposes. 

The  utmost  care  has  been  given  to  the  proper  use  and 
development  of  waterways.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  marks 
have  been  spent  in  regulating  navigable  rivers  and  in  connect- 
ing them  by  canals,  which  might  induce  traffic.  Hundreds  of 
millions  have  been  expended  also  in  acquiring  the  railways  of 
Germany,  almost  all  of  which  now  are  owned  or  controlled 
by  the  Government.  Devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  entire 
country,  these  waterways  and  railroads  cooperate  in  harmony. 
Conditions  such  as  prevailed  in  the  United  States,  where,  to 
satisfy  their  own  selfish  interests,  the  railroad  companies 
purposely  kill  (by  discriminating  tariffs  , adverse  placement 
of  tracks  and  structures,  by  acquiring  water-fronts,  terminals, 
competing  vessels,  and  in  many  other  ways)  all  water  traffic, 
are  absolutely  unknown  in  Germany.  Her  rivers  are  crowded 
with  craft  of  all  kinds,  that  profitably  transport  such  freight  as 
it  would  be  unprofitable  to  carry  by  railroads.  To  what 
extent  river  transportation  has  become  a  figure  in  the  life  and 
economies  of  the  Empire  may  best  be  seen  on  the  Rhine.  In 
1907  that  river  carried  more  than  21,000,000  tons  of  freight; 
14,000,000  of  it,  mostly  raw  materials,  passed  upstream  into 
the  heart  of  Germany,  while  7,000,000  tons  of  finished 
products  were  sent  down  to  foreign  countries.  As  all  means 
of  transportation  and  communication,  the  post,  telegraph,  and 
telephone,  are  owned  by  the  Government,  there  are,  of  course, 
no  discriminations  in  tariff,  no  tariff  wars,  nor  excessive 
charges,  such  as  are  extorted  from  the  people  of  the  United 
States. 

In  shipbuilding  as  well  as  in  shipping  Germany  made 
wonderful  progress.  Hamburg  became  the  third-greatest 
harbor  in  the  world.      And  while  in   former  years  German 


—     44     — 

men-of-war  and  all  big  merchant  liners  had  been  built  in 
England,  now  all  these  vessels  are  constructed  at  the  great 
ship  yards  in  Stettin,  Kiel,  Hamburg,  Wilhelmshaven  and  other 
places.  The  magnificent  liners  of  the  North  German  Lloyd 
and  the  Hamburg  America  Line,  especially  the  "Kaiser  Wil- 
helm  der  Grosse,"  the  "Crownprincess  Cecilia,"  the  "Im- 
perator"  and  the  "Vaterland"  have  been  a  surprise  for  all 
England  and  America. 

Some  Facts  about  Germany's  Commerce. 

The  Germans  developed  their  industries  and  commerce 
with  the  same  energy  and  scientific  thoroughness  that  they 
applied  to  the  development  of  their  national  resources.  While 
in  former  times  the  majority  of  the  population  was  engaged  in 
agriculture,  to-day  the  industrial  and  commercial  classes  have 
a  preponderance  of  almost  three  to  one.  The  enormous  in* 
crease  of  commerce  is  best  illustrated  by  the  following  figures: 
In  1872  the  value  of  imports  amounted  to  3,468,480,000 
marks;  of  the  exports  to  2.494,620,000  marks.  In  1912  the 
figures  for  the  imports  were  13,703,000,000  and  for  the  ex- 
ports 9,280,000,000,  making  a  total  of  22,983,000,000 
against  5,963, 1  00,000  in  1  872. 

Some  of  Germany's  industries  became  world-famous.  The 
cutting  implements  from  Solingen,  the  tools  from  Remscheid, 
the  heavy  cannons  and  armor-plates  from  Krupp  in  Essen,  the 
beautiful  velvets  from  Krefeld,  the  embroideries  from  Elber- 
feld  and  Barmen,  the  gloves,  laces,  and  hosiery  from  Saxony, 
and  many  other  German  products  were  found  everywhere;  and 
by  their  splendid  quality  and  reasonable  prices  they  held  their 
own. 

The  chemical  industry  of  Germany,  not  much  older  than 
thirty  years,  became  the  wonder  and  the  fear  of  the  modern 
commercial  world.  Keeping  nine  thousand  factories  with  over 
two  hundred  thousand  laborers  busy,  it  has  revolutionized  and 
overthrown  whole  branches  of  foreign  industries.  It  practically 
drove  indigo,  cochineal,  and  the  dye-woods  from  the  market, 
just  as  the  sugar-beet  products  of  Germany  were  a  heavy  blow 
to  the  sugar  plantations  of  the  West  Indies. 

How  the  world  depends  on  German  dye  stuff,  has  been 
demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that  since  the  outbreak  of  the  present 
war,  whole  industries  of  the  United  States  and  other  countries 
came  to  a  standstill. 

If  you  visit  the  principal  sites  of  the  chemical  industry, 
Hoechst,  Mainkur,  Elberfeld,  and  Diisseldorf,  you  will  be 
surprised  at  the  enormous  mass  of  different  products     and 


—     45     — 

wonderful  colors  that  are  extracted  here  from  tar,  coal-oil, 
and  other  unassuming  matter.  But  if  you  wish  to  see  the 
Germans  at  their  best,  you  must  study  the  famous  coal-and-iron 
region  at  the  Rhur  and  Wupper,  the  two  most  important 
tributaries  of  the  lower  Rhine.  The  Krupps,  Thyssens,  and 
others  are  kings  here,  with  enormous  armies  of  workingmen 
at  their  command.  Everywhere  you  hear  the  thundering  rever- 
beration of  powerful  hammers,  the  rattling  and  stamping  of 
tremendous  machines.  Everywhere  you  see  regiments  of 
miners  emerging  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  or  ready  to  delve 
into  them.  In  the  daytime  the  sky  is  dark  with  smoke,  in  the 
night-time  it  is  aglow  with  the  lights  of  thousands  of  furnaces, 
foundries,  and  smelting-works  —  a  German  edition  of  Pitts- 
burg, but  of  still  larger  scale  and  with  the  same  impulsive 
hustle  and  deafening  noise. 

When  some  time  ago,  I  traveled  through  this  region,  I 
had  the  impression  of  being  in  the  busiest  part  of  America. 
Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  I  met  with  new 
surprises.  Vast  stretches  of  former  farm-  and  wood-land, 
over  which  twenty  years  ago  I  had  wandered,  I  now  found 
occupied  by  big  cities,  the  names  of  which  were  utterly  new  to 
me;  and  towns  familiar  to  me  I  found  expanded  to  astonishing 
proportions.  My  native  town,  which,  in  the  days  of  my  youth, 
numbered  but  15,000  inhabitants,  had,  during  the  three  de- 
cades of  my  absence,  increased  its  size  and  population  five 
times.  Others,  unimportant  before,  had  swelled  to  cities  of 
150,000  to  200,000  population. 

In  the  industrial  districts  of  Westphalia,  Saxonia,  and 
Upper  Silesia  I  noticed  a  similar  wonderful  increase  of  people, 
factories,  textile  mills,  iron  and  color  works,  mines,  tanneries, 
and  hundreds  of  other  establishments,  and  also  the  un- 
mistakable proof,  that  the  German  nation  has  become  wealthy 
and  lives  in  much  more  comfortable  cimcumstances  than  ever 
before. 

This  enormous  development  of  German  industries,  and 
the  increase  in  wealth  explain  the  astonishing  shrinking  of 
German  immigration  into  the  United  States,  which  in  1 882 
amounted  to  250,630  individuals,  and  has  since  that  time 
steadily  gone  down  to  only  18,545  in  1912.  The  surplus 
population,  formerly  compelled  to  emigrate  found  plenty  of 
work  at  home  or  in  the  colonies  the  Empire  had  established 
in  many  parts  of  the  world.  Not  willing  to  lose  such  enormous 
masses  of  strong  and  capable  individuals,  and  stimulated  by 
the  desire  to,  provide  for  them  new  outlets  under  the  German 
flag,  the  Government  began  a  colonial  policy  in  1  884,  with  the 


—     46     — 

acquisition  of  Angra  Pequena.  Since  then  it  acquired — not 
by  conquest,  but  peacefully — Kamerun,  Togoland,  great 
parts  of  East  and  Southwest  Africa,  the  northeastern  third  of 
New  Guinea,  the  Bismarck  Islands,  Samoa,  the  Caroline,  Salo- 
mon, Marshall,  and  Ladrone  Islands,  having,  in  all,  2,65  7,204 
square  kilometers  and  a  population  of  twelve  millions. 

These  acquisitions,  as  well  as  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
German  industries,  of  course  called  for  an  adequate  merchant 
marine.  Conditions  for  the  establishment  of  such  a  fleet  were 
not  at  all  favorable.  In  the  matter  of  shipbuilding  Germany 
was  again  handicapped  by  nature,  for  her  supplies  of  tough 
wood  and  iron,  the  materials  for  construction,  were  very 
limited.  Nor  did  the  country  possess  any  great  natural  harbors. 
But  by  placing  the  import  of  shipbuilding  material  upon  the 
free  list,  and  by  spending  many  millions  for  dredging,  the 
difficulties  were  overcome.  With  the  construction  of  the  Kaiser 
Wilhelm  Canal  a  communication  between  the  Baltic  and  the 
North  Sea  was  established.  By  granting  subventions  the 
Government  encouraged  new  steamboat  lines  to  all  the 
colonies.  As  these  vessels  called  at  many  important  harbors 
in  Africa,  Asia,  and  Australia,  new  fields  of  trade  were  tapped. 

In  1872  the  capacity  of  the  German  merchant  marine 
amounted  to  only  982,000  tons.  It  had  increased  to  4,935,- 
909  tons  in  1913. 

Briliiant  intellectual  achievements  of  the  German  nation. 

This  period  of  marvelous  material  success  was  also  a  period 
of  wonderful  intellectual  achievements,  of  great  artists,  authors, 
composers,  poets,  philosophers,  inventors  and  men  of  science. 
tl  was  the  time,  when  Franz  von  Lenbach  became  perhaps 
the  greatest  portrait  painter  who  ever  lived.  It  was  the  time 
of  Adolf  Menzel,  Wilhelm  Camphausen,  Anton  von  Werner 
and  other  brilliant  artists,  who  produced  most  impressive 
paintings  of  the  glorious  historical  events  of  which  they  had 
been  witnesses.  It  was  the  time  of  Ludwig  Knaus,  to  whom 
the  German  nation  is  indebted  for  beautiful  pictures  of  its 
intimate  life.  Furthermore,  there  were  Arnold  Boecklin,  the 
philosopher  with  brush  and  palette,  the  classic  among  artists 
Anselm  Feuerbach,  the  Kaulbach's,  Fritz  von  Uhde,  Hans 
Thoma,  Leibl,  Franz  von  Stuck,  Franz  Defregger,  Hermann 
Vogel,  Karl  Marr,  Max  Liebermann,  Oswald  and  Andreas 
Achenbach,  Hans  Barthels,  Zuegel,  and  the  famous  sculptors 
Reinhold  Begas,  Johannes  Schilling,  Max  Klinger,  Rudolf 
Simering  and  others. 

Among  the  many  German  composers  of  that  period  Franz 


—     47     — 

Liszt,  Richard  Wagner,  Johannes  Brahms,  Max  Bruch,  Johann 
and  Richard  Strauss  and  Humperdinck  became  world  re- 
nowned. In  the  philosophy  of  history  Theodor  Mommsen, 
Ludwig  von  Ranke,  Karl  Lamprecht  and  H.  von  Treitschke 
have  been  acknowledged  as  pathfinders;  while  Paul  Heyse, 
Gustav  Freytag,  Wilhelm  Raabe,  Friedrich  Spielhagen,  Fritz 
Reuter,  Victor  Scheffel,  Gustav  Frenssen,  Ernst  von  Wilden- 
bruch,  Detlev  von  Liliencron,  Hermann  Sudermann,  Ludwig 
Fulda,  Gerhard  Hauptmann  and  thousands  of  others  enriched 
the  overwhelming  intellectual  wealth  of  the  German  nation. 

In  the  realm  of  science  the  names  of  Robert  Koch,  the 
pioneer  of  the  germ  theory,  Professor  Behring,  the  discoverer 
of  the  diphteria  serum,  Professor  Ehrlich,  of  salvarsan  fame, 
of  Professor  Roentgen,  the  discoverer  of  the  X-rays,  of  Ernst 
Haeckel,  the  great  naturalist,  of  Virchow,  Pettenkofer,  Helm- 
holtz,  Eucken,  Liebig,  Bunsen,  Nernst,  Woehler,  Ostwald, 
Mendeleef,  Fraunhofer,  Kirchhoff,  and  Hertz  became  stars, 
that  will  shine  through  centuries.  Among  the  great  inventors 
Werner  Siemens,  of  the  dynamo  fame,  and  the  **Edison  of 
Europe"  rises  like  a  tower.  There  are  also  Gauss,  Daimler, 
Diesel,  Welsbach,  Zeiss,  Goertz,  Anschiitz,  and  hundreds  and 
hundreds  others.  Last  but  not  least,  Count  Zeppelin  and 
Schuette-Lanz,  who  attained  •  the  highest  development  in  mr- 
ships. 

Germany's  Care  for  the  Working  Classes. 

During  all  these  times  of  enormous  activity  the  nation 
never  forget  other  important  problems  it  was  obliged  to  solve. 
Above  all,  the  social  conditions  of  the  working  classes  called 
for  reforms. 

Wages  before  1870  had  been  low,  and  many  of  the  evils 
that  developed  in  other  industrial  countries  had  spread  over 
to  Germany.  Discontent  and  socialism  were  increasing,  in 
spite  of  all  repressive  measures  taken  by  the  Government  after 
the  attempt  by  the  socialist  Hoedel,  in  1878,  to  kill  Emperor 
William  I. 

Seeing  that  repression  would  never  settle  the  question,  and 
believing  that  the  working  classes  have  a  right  to  be  considered 
by  the  State,  Prince  Bismarck  resolved  to  cut  the  ground  from 
beneath  the  feet  of  the  socialistic  propagandists  by  bettering 
the  conditions  of  the  working  classes.  And  so,  with  the 
Emperor's  message  to  the  Reichstag  on  November  7,  1881, 
opened  the  era  of  "State  social  politics,"  which  brought  about 
an  enormous  change  in  the  situation  of  the  working  classes. 
Besides  many  reforms  in  regard  to  the  length  of  working  time 


—    48     — 

and  women's  and  children's  labor,  this  "State  socialism** 
provided  for  three  important  institutions:  first,  a  compulsory 
insurance  against  sickness;  second,  a  compulsory  insurance 
against  accidents;  third,  a  compulsory  insurance  against 
invalidity  and  old  age. 

To  the  funds  of  the  first  class,  the  Krankenkassen,  of  which 
at  present  about  25,000  are  in  existence,  all  laborers  earning 
less  than  two  thousand  marks  a  year  must  pay  two  thirds  and 
the  employer  one  third  of  the  weekly  premiums.  In  case  of 
sickness,  the  insured  person  receives  half  the  amount  for 
twenty-six  weeks.  Doctors,  hospitals,  and  medicines  are  free. 
In  1913  fourteen  million  and  fivehundred  and  nineteen- 
thousand  laborers  were  in  this  way  protected.  Many  poor 
mothers  are  supported  for  several  weeks  before  and  after  con- 
finement. To  prevent  sickness,  especially  tuberculosis,  the 
institution  supports  numbers  of  sanatoriums  and  recreation 
homes,  where  thousands  of  people,  who  would  perish  other- 
wise, regain  health. 

Billions  of  Marks  are  Paid  in  Public  Insurance. 

The  insurance  fees  against  accidents  must  be  paid  entirely 
by  the  employer.  In  case  of  an  accident,  it  is  not  the  em- 
ployer in  whose  factory  it  happened  who  is  held  responsible, 
but  the  whole  group  of  employers  of  the  same  branch.  Every 
group  is  compelled  to  establish  an  insurance  company.  About 
twenty-five  million  laborers  are  thus  protected.  An  injured 
laborer  receives,  during  the  time  of  his  disability,  two  thirds 
of  his  wages,  also  free  medical  treatment.  In  case  of  his 
death,  the  family  receives  at  once  fifteen  per  cent  of  his  annual 
wages  and  an  annual  support  of  sixty  per  cent.  As  the  em- 
ployers naturally  wish  to  keep  the  amount  of  expenditures  as 
low  as  possible,  this  kind  of  compulsory  insurance  has  greatly 
stimulated  the  invention  and  institution  of  measures  by  which 
accidents  may  be  prevented. 

The  premiums  for  the  insurance  against  invalidity  and  old 
age  are  paid  half  by  the  employees  and  half  by  the  employer. 
Support  is  given  to  invalids  without  regard  to  age,  and  to 
persons  above  seventy  years;  also  to  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  insured  persons.  To  every  lawful  pension  the  Government 
contributes  fifty  marks.  At  present  about  sixteen  million 
persons  are  protected  by  this  insurance.  Up  to  the  end  of 
1907  in  all,  5,984,000,000  marks  had  been  dstributed  among 
needy  people  by  these  three  branches  of  insurance.  In  the 
one  year  1913  the  amount  distributed  was  775  million  marks. 
These    enormous   amounts   would    be   increased     by     several 


—     49     — 

hundred  million  marks,  if  we  consider  the  similar  institutions 
that  protect  the  miners  of  Germany.  The  splendid  results  of 
such  compulsory  insurance  have  induced  the  Government  to 
prepare  also  a  special  insurance  for  widows  and  orphans.  It 
might  be  mentioned  that  the  management  of  these  insurance 
companies  lies  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  working  classes 
and  the  employers. 

The  German  nation  applies  an  enormous  part  of  its  present 
wealth  to  the  sanitary  improvement  and  the  beautifying  of  its 
cities  and  buildings.  These  measures  are  not  confined  to  the 
quarters  of  the  rich,  but  extend  also  to  those  of  the  working 
classes.  Besides  preserving  and  restoring  as  far  as  possible 
all  interesting  features  and  monuments  of  the  past,  able 
architects  adorn  the  cities  with  magnificent  municipal  build- 
ings, museums,  libraries,  schoolhouses,  theaters,  churches,  and 
domes.  Expert  landscape-gardeners  provide  beautiful  parks 
and  squares  for  recreation-grounds  and  fit  surroundings  for  the 
statues  of  the  great  men  the  nation  has  produced.  The 
triumph  Germany  has  achieved  in  improving  its  cities  must 
be  clear  to  every  one  who  has  had  the  opportunity  of  compar- 
ing the  great  modern  German  cities  with  those  of  other 
countries. 

That  in  regard  to  public  education  Germany  leads  among 
the  nations,  that  in  literature,  music,  and  arts  it  marches  in 
the  very  first  rank,  is  a  fact  too  well  known  to  necessitate  the 
giving  of  details. 

And  so  the  modern  German  Empire  presented  itself,  as 
Mr.  Robert  J.  Thompson,  United  States  consul  at  Hanover, 
said  in  a  contribution  to  the  New  York  Herald,  "as  a  modern 
organization  of  the  most  efficient  character,  calculated  to  fit 
the  times,  and  operating,  from  His  Majesty  the  Kaiser  down 
through  the  Reichstag  to  the  humblest  manufacturer,  with  a 
singleness  of  purpose  to  capture  her  full  share  of  the  markets 
of  the  world.  It  is  no  dream,  but  one  of  the  greatest  realities 
of  modern  history." 

Such  was  the  happy  situation  of  Germany  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eventful  year   1914. 

And  the  Germans  themselves?  Absorbed  in  the  solution 
of  the  many  peaceful  problems  before  them,  they  had  neither 
time  nor  wish  to  think  of  war.  Nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
out  of  a  thousand  would  have  regarded  a  war  as  a  dreadful 
calamity,  by  which  everything  might  be  risked  and  the  end 
of  which  nobody  could  foresee.  Most  assuredly,  any  measure 
guaranteeing  eternal  peace  would  have  found  nowhere  strong- 
er advocates  than  among  the  German  people. 


The  unholiest  Conspiracy  in  History. 

He  who  is  more  intimately  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
the  German  nation,  knows  that  John  Bull  never  has  looked 
with  great  favor  upon  his  kinsfolks.  Especially  not  since  these 
intelligent  and  industrious  German  cousins  grew  prosperous 
and  even  ventured  to  become  his  strong  competitors  on  the 
high  seas  as  well  as  in  the  world's  trade.  As  soon  as  Germany 
began  to  gather  her  remaining  strength  after  the  terrible  wars 
of  the  1  7th,  1  8th  and  1  9th  centuries  and  build  up  again  her 
ruined  country,  John  Bull  looked  at  the  proceeding  with  much 
suspicion  and  did  his  best  to  interfere  whenever  possible. 

When  in  1  849  the  first  vessels  of  the  North  German  Con- 
federation appeared  on  the  North  Sea,  showing  the  flag  of 
that  Union,  Lord  Palmerston,  the  British  Prime  Minister, 
tried  to  drive  these  vessels  from  the  ocean  with  the  threat, 
that  British  men-of-war  would  treat  them,  flying  ai^  unknown 
flag,  like  pirates. 

But  when,  in  spite  of  this  threat,  this  flag  became  respected, 
and  Germany,  under  the  leadership  of  Bismarck,  Emperor 
William  I,  and  William  II,  took  such  a  surprising  ascendancy 
in  commerce  as  well  as  in  political  affairs,  when  it  even  dared 
to  build  a  navy  and  to  acquire  colonies,  England's  envy  grew 
into  furious  hatred.  Into  a  hatred  that  had  henceforth  only 
one  aim:  to  drive  Germany  from  the  seas,  from  the  world's 
markets  and,  if  possible  to  annihilate  it  for  all  times  to  come. 

What  does  John  Bull  care  for  racial  and  tribal  kinship? 
What  of  it,  if  the  rulers  of  the  two  countries  are  of  the  same 
blood?  What  matters  it  to  him  if  a  nation  is  crushed,  that 
has  been  a  leader  in  arts  and  sciences  for  centuries  and  which 
the  educated  and  philosophers  of  all  nations  regard  with 
respect  and  veneration!  Such  silly  questions  of  conscience  have 
to  be  silenced  when  the  English  money-bag  is  in  danger  and 
where  there  is  a  competitor  who  is  also  striving  for  **a  place 
in  the  sun." 

Not  daring,  however,  to  fight  Germany  singlehanded  in 
open  warfare,  the  English  Government  for  many  years 
pursued  the  policy  of  obstructing  and  defeating  Germany  in 
all  her  plans  and  projects  and  excluding  her  at  all  costs  from 
the  arena.  Wherever  Germany  attempted  to  found  a  colony, 
wherever  she  tried  to  acquire  a  coaling  station  for  her  mer- 


—     51     — 

chant  marine,  wherever  she  wished  to  participate  in  some 
international  enterprise  she  met  with  the  British  challenge: 
•'Not  therel" 

Her  commercial  interests  in  Morocco  were  thwarted;  her 
projects  ii\  Anatolia,  China  and  other  places  hindered  or 
spoiled. 

All  this  was  done  to  a  nation,  that  had  never  injured 
England,  that  never  had  fought  a  war  against  her  and  whose 
sole  crime  was,  that,  by  its  industry  and  intelligence  it  had 
become  an  efficient  competitor. 

English  hatred  reached  its  climax,  when  the  beautiful  Ger- 
man-built steamers  of  the  Hamburg  American  Line  and  the 
North  German  Lloyd  made  their  maiden  trips  across  the  At- 
lantic and  by  their  swiftness  won  the  "blue  ribbon  of  the  sea." 
It  was  then,  that  English  papers  made  the  cold-blooded  de- 
claration: "Germany  must  be  destroyed." 

In  these  words  you  have,  in  a  nutshell,  the  cause  and  object 
of  England's  present  war. — 

This  hate  and  the  all  absorbing  desire  to  strangle  this 
competitor  found  in  King  Edward  VII.  its  most  relentless 
exponent. 

This  king,  a  brother  to  the  Empress  Frederick  and  the  uncle 
of  Emperor  William  II.,  was  notoriously  a  person  of  low  moral 
standard.  He  was  not  only  a  passionate  gambler,  but  also 
liked  to  spend  much  of  his  time  with  charming  coquettes. 
His  relations  to  the  "Lillie  of  Jersey"  and  other  fair  English 
and  French  actresses  became  more  than  once  a  public  scandal. 
It  is  also  well  known,  that  he  nourished  great  aversion  toward 
his  nephew,  the  German  Emperor,  whose  character  is,  in  every 
respect,  in  strongest  contrast  with  that  of  the  king. 

When  King  Edward  became  possessed  with  the  idea,  of 
destroying  Germany,  he  intended  not  at  all  to  sacrifice  British 
troops,  but  rather  true  to  English  tradition,  to  employ  the 
armies  of  other  countries  to  commit  that  dangerous  piece  of 
work. 

In  order  to  isolate  Germany,  he  visited,  a  political  drummer, 
the  courts  of  Europe,  poured  oil  on  the  still  glowing  embers 
of  the  French  thirst  for  revenge,  and  with  a  thousand  promises 
he  baited  the  greed  of  the  Slavic  and  Latin  nations. 

The  song  of  the  deceitful  king  was  music  to  the  ears  of  the 
eager  listeners.  It  made  France  forget  Fashoda,  Trafalgar, 
Aboukir,  and  the  loss  of  her  American  empires  and  her  many 
beautiful  islands.  It  beguiled  Russia,  Servia  and  Portugal;  it 
deluded  Belgium,  to  throw  away  her  most  costly  treasure,  her 


—     52     — 

neutrality  and  enter  with  England  into  a  military  convention, 
which,  later  on,  brought  about  her  downfall. 

Like  all  conspirators,  the  chief  actors  of  this  complot  went 
to  work  very  carefully.  Everything  was  done  in  the  dark. 
Of  their  plots,  schemes  and  intrigues  only  inklings  came  to 
the  ears  of  the  world. 

But  that  the  conspiracy  is  of  long  standing,  has  been  proven 
by  several  facts.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  on  October  7th, 
1905,  the  Paris  paper  "Matin"  revealed  to  the  world  the 
news  of  a  proposed  dual  alliance  between  France  and 
England  for  the  purpose  of  combining  their  forces  and  wiping 
out  the  German  navy  and  German  commerce.  It  was  agreed, 
that  France  should  attack  Germany  by  land,  while  England 
would  throw  1  00,000  men  into  Schleswig-Holstein  and  destroy 
the  Kaiser- Wilhelm-Canal. 

This  conspiracy  was  negotiated  on  the  French  side  by  the 
Foreign  Minister  Delcasse,  without  the  knowledge  and  sanction 
of  Minister  President  Ruvier.  When  that  gentleman  received 
the  news  of  the  proposed  alliance,  he,  foreseeing  the  terrible 
consequences  of  such  a  treaty,  urged  at  once  the  retirement 
of  Delcasse,  saying  that  he  deserved  to  be  put  to  the  wall 
and  shot  as  criminal. 

But,  later  on,  when  the  French  Cabinet  changed,  Delcasse 
came  to  the  top  again,  and  was  sent  as  ambassador  to  St. 
Petersburg,  where  he  worked  indefatigably  for  the  fulfilment 
of  the  dream  of  his  life:  the  destruction  of  Germany. 

It  was  he  who  secured  for  Russia  in  March  1914  from  the 
French  Government  a  loan  of  $400,000,000,  to  enable  it,  to 
build  strategic  railways  designed  to  facilitate  the  concentration 
of  troops  to  her  western  frontiers.  According  to  the  Paris 
"Journal  des  Debats"  this  money  was  lent  by  France  on  the 
express  condition  that  Russia  "should  render  fuller  service  to 
the  alliance  and  should  take  a  firmer  attitude  toward  Ger- 
many.** 

"Le  Matin**  of  Sunday,  June  14th,  1914,  one  and  a  half 
month  before  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war,  published  also 
an  article  under  the  headline  "La  Russie  est  prete,  la  France 
doit  Tetre  aussi.'*  ("Russia  is  ready,  France  must  be  also.**) 
In  this  article  the  Russian  Foreign  Minister  Sasonow  informed 
"La  Grande  Nation**  that  Russia  had  come  up  to  the  mutual 
agreement  by  creating  enormous  armies,  ready  to  strike,  and 
that  France  ought  to  be  ready  also. 

What  kind  of  agreement  King  Edward  and  his  executor 
Sir  Edward  Grey  made  with  Russia,  Servia,  Montenegro 
Portugal,  Japan,  and  perhaps  other  countries,  is  not  known. 


—     53     _ 

And  probably  the  world  will  never  get  full  insight  into  all 
these  complots  and  intrigues  in  less  than  a  century,  when 
archives  will  give  up  their  present  secrets. 

We  have,  however,  full  knowledge  of  the  secret  understand- 
ing England  had  with  Belgium.  The  documents,  found  in 
the  archives  of  the  Belgian  Government  by  the  Germans, 
after  they  had  taken  possession  of  Brussels,  have  been  publish- 
ed in  facsimile  in  Germany  as  well  as  in  the  United  States. 
They  are  reproduced  in  No.  2  1  of  the  "Fatherland"  and  also 
separately  under  the  heading:  "The  Case  of  Belgium,"  edited 
by  the  former  Colonial  Secretary  Dr.  B.  Dernburg.  Page  3  of 
this  paper  gives  the  following 

Summary  of  the  Secret  Documents. 

I.  The  first  document  is  a  report  of  the  Chief  of  the 
Belgian  General  Staff,  Major-General  Ducarme,  to  the 
Minister  of  War,  reporting  a  series  of  conversations  which  he 
had  had  with  the  Military  Attache  of  the  British  Legation, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Barnardiston,  in  Brussels.  It  discloses 
that  as  early  as  January,  1 906,  the  Belgian  Government  was  in 
consultation  with  the  British  Government  over  steps  to  be 
taken  by  Belgium,  Great  Britain  and  France  against  Germany. 
A  plan  had  been  fully  established  for  the  landing  of  two 
British  army  corps  in  French  ports  to  be  transferred  to  the 
point  in  Belgium  necessary  for  operations  against  the  Germans. 
Throughout  the  conversation  the  British  and  Belgian  forces 
were  spoken  of  as  ''allied  armies" ;  the  British  Military  Attache 
insisted  on  discussing  the  question  of  the  chief  command,  and 
he  urged  the  establishment,  in  the  meantime,  of  a  Belgian 
spy  system  in  Germany. 

II.  When  in  the  year  1912  Lieutnant-Colonel  Barnardiston 
had  been  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bridges  as  British 
Military  Attache  in  Brussels,  and  the  Chief  of  the  Belgian 
General  Staff,  Major-General  Ducarme,  had  been  succeeded 
by  General  Jungbluth  as  Chief  of  the  Belgian  General  Staff 
the  conversations  proceeded  between  the  two  latter  officials. 
That  is  to  say,  these  were  not  casual  conversations  between 
individuals,  but  a  series  of  official  conversations  between 
representatives  of  their  respective  governments,  in  pursuance 
of  a  well-considered  policy  on  the  part  of  both  governments. 

III.  The  above  documents  are  given  additional  sig- 
nificance by  a  report  made  in  1911  by  Baron  Greindl,  Belgian 
Minister  in  Berlin  to  the  Belgian  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
from  which  it  appears  that  this  representative  of  the  Belgian 
Government  in  Berlin  was  familiar  with  the  plans  set  forth  and 


—     54     — 

protested  against  them,  asking  why  like  preparations  had  not 
been  made  with  Germany  to  repel  invasion  by  the  French  and 
English. 

Taken  together,  these  documents  show  that  the  British 
Government  had  the  intention,  in  case  of  a  Franco-German 
war,  of  sending  troops  into  Belgium  immediately — that  is,  of 
doing  the  very  thing  which,  done  by  Germany,  was  used  by 
England  as  a  pretext  for  declaring  war  on  Germany. 

They  show  also  that  the  Belgian  Government  took,  in 
agreement  with  the  English  General  Staff,  military  precautions 
against  a  hypothetical  German  invasion  of  Belgium.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Belgian  Government  never  made  the  slightest 
attempt  to  take,  in  agreement  with  the  German  Government, 
military  precautions  against  an  Anglo-French  invasion  of 
Belgium,  though  fully  informed  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  the 
British  Government  to  land  and  dispatch,  across  French  terri- 
tory into  Belgium  160,000  troops,  without  asking  Belgium's 
permission,  on  the  first  outbreak  of  the  European  war.  This 
clearly  demonstrates  that  the  Belgian  Government  was  determ- 
ined from  the  outset  to  join  Germany's  enemies. 

More  evidences  of  English-Belgian  duplicity. 

Other  convincing  evidence  of  English-Belgian  duplicity, 
discovered  by  the  Germans  in  Belgium,  are  secret  military 
handbooks,  concerning  Belgium's  roads  and  rivers,  which 
were  issued  by  the  English  General  Staff. 

Four  different  volumes  of  this  handbook  have  been  found, 
of  which  Volume  1  was  printed  in  1912,  Volume  2  in  1913, 
and  Volume  3  in  two  parts  and  Volume  4  in  1914.  These 
volumes  are  stamped  "Confidential.  This  book  is  the  pro- 
perty of  the  British  Government,   intended   for  the  personal 

information  of ,  who  is  reponsible  for  the  safekeeping 

of  the  book.  The  contents  are  to  be  made  known  only  to 
authorized   persons." 

The  handbooks  contain  descriptions  of  terrain  the  most 
minute  imaginable  from  the  point  of  view  of  military  obser- 
vations.     The  introductory  remarks  read: 

"The  reports  portray  the  condition  of  the  roads  only  as 
they  were  at  the  time  of  the  observations.  It  will  always  be 
advisable  to  examine  them  again  before  using,  to  make  sure 
that  they  are  not  closed  by  reason  of  repairs,  the  laying  of 
pipes,  &c.** 

Thus,  for  example,  there  is  discussed  in  Volume  1,  Page 
1  30,  the  great  road  through  Nieuport,  Dixmude,  Ypres,  Menin, 
Turcoing  and  Tournai,  as  regards  structure  and  topography, 


—     55     — 

tactical  points,  points  of  observation,  and  water  conditions. 
In  this  discussion  the  villages  along  the  road  are  enumerated 
and  described.  We  find  their  respective  distances  from  one 
another  given,  as  well  as  detailed  remarks  pertinent  to  ele- 
vations and  bridges  throughout  the  network  of  roads,  the 
cross-roads,  telephone  and  telegraph  stations,  railway  stations, 
including  the  length  of  platforms  and  ladders,  minor  railroads, 
location  of  petroleum  tanks,  and  the  like. 

It  is  constantly  stated  whether  the  population  speaks  French 
in  whole  or  in  part.  As  examples,  tactical  remarks  concerning 
Dixmude  are  given  verbatim.  In  passing  it  should  be  remarked 
that  church  towers  are  given  as  good  points  of  observation. 
In  the  same  detailed  manner  the  entire  Scheldt  course,  to- 
gether with  all  its  tributary  streams,  landings,  and  transfer 
facilities,  widths  and  depths,  bridges,  boat  supplies,  &c.,  are 
further   described. 

Thus  the  handbooks  furnish  an  excellent  guide-book  for 
the  leader.  General  Staff  officer,  or  sub-leader  of  any  grade. 
Included  therein  are:  ( 1  )  A  survey  of  facilities  for  quartering 
troops,  arranged  according  to  villages  and  communities,  to- 
gether with  figures  of  facilities  for  housing  troops,  the  means 
of  troop  transportation  at  hand,  and  all  other  details  necessary 
for  the  commander  at  the  place;  (2)  a  collection  of  the  im- 
portant sign  posts  for  the  benefit  of  aviators  in  the  part  of 
Belgium  south  of  the  line  from  Charleroi  to  Namur  and  Liege, 
as  well  as  for  the  environs  of  Brussels.  This  book  of  infor- 
mation, so  extraordinarily  careful  and  detailed  in  its  com- 
pilation, is  completed  with  a  map  of  landing  places,  and  bears 
the  superscription  "secret."     It  is  dated  in  the  year  1914. 

These  geographical  military  handbooks  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  were  not  compiled  only  a  short  time  before  the  war  or 
during  the  war.  That,  even  aside  from  the  printing  itself, 
would  have  been  impossible.  The  material  for  them,  rather, 
as  attested  by  the  remarks  above  the  single  divisions,  was 
gathered  after  1905  by  individual  observations. 

The  keys,  therefore,  prove  a  detailed  preparation  for  a 
campaign  in  neutral  Belgium,  carried  on  for  the  last  five 
years.  The  documents  are  nothing  more  nor  less  than  Secret 
Service  orders  for  an  English  army  fighting  there.  The  English 
General  Staff,  moreover,  had  so  well  equipped  itself  for  such 
a  case,  and  in  such  a  short  time,  and  had  anticipated  it  so 
surely,  that  it  executed  the  laborious  work  of  collecting  these 
military  handbooks.  Such  a  work  could  not  have  been  achieved 
without  the  most  extensive  and  voluntary  assistance  of  the  Bel- 
gium Government  and  military  authorities.     In  no  other  way 


—     56    — 

could  such  exhaustive  strategic  and  tactical  information  as 
that  above  described,  with  respect  to  the  minutest  and  most 
detailed  features,  or  such  explicit  data  concerning  rolling 
stocks,  sluices,  and  bridges,  have  been  obtained.  The  lists 
showing  the  capacity  of  houses  in  Belgium  for  quartering 
troops,  which  could  have  been  no  more  complete  if  compiled 
for  the  country  itself,  can  have  emanated  only  from  the  Belgian 
Government.  Here,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  Belgian  official 
material  was  used.  It  was  prepared  for  English  purposes,  or 
in  many  passages  simply  translated  into  English. 

In  such  detail  as  this  had  England  and  Belgium,  even  in 
time  of  peace,  prepared  and  agreed  upon  military  co-op- 
eration. Belgium,  in  other  words,  was  politically  and  in  a 
military  sense  simply  a  vassal  of  England.  The  indignation 
which  England  to-day  assumes  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  for 
show  purposes  concerning  Germany's  alleged  breach  of  neu- 
trality is  proved  by  these  documents  to  be  entirely  unfounded 
and  unjustified.  If  any  one  has  a  right  to  be  indignant  it  is 
Germany. 

In  view  of  all  these  evidences  the  official  "North  Germah 
Gazette"  says:  "Here  it  is  plainly  stated  that  the  British 
Government  had  the  intention,  in  case  of  a  Franco-German 
war,  to  send  troops  to  Belgium  immediately,  that  is  to  say,  to 
violate  Belgian  neutrality  and  do  the  very  thing  which  England 
at  the  time  when  Germany,  justified  by  reasons  of  self-pro- 
tection, anticipated  her,  used  as  a  pretext  for  declaring  war 
on  Germany.  Moreover,  the  British  Government,  with  a  cyni- 
cism that  is  unparalleled  in  history,  has  taken  advantage  of 
Germany's  violation  of  Belgian  neutrality  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  sentiment  against  us  all  over  the  world  and  of  posing 
as  the  protector  of  the  small  and  feeble  powers. 

As  regards  the  Belsrian  Government,  it  was  its  duty  not  only 
to  reject  emphatically  the  English  insinuations,  but  also  to 
point  out  to  the  other  signatories  of  the  London  Protocol  of 
1839  and  especially  to  the  German  Government  that  England 
had  repeatedly  tempted  Belgium  to  disregard  the  duties  in- 
cumbent upon  her  as  a  neutral  power.  The  Belgian  Govern- 
ment, however,  did  not  do  so.  That  Government  considered 
itself  justified  and  bound  to  take,  in  agreement  with  the  English 
General  Staff,  military  precautions  against  the  supposed  plan 
of  a  German  invasion  of  Belgium.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Belgian  Government  has  never  made  the  slightest  attempt  to 
take,  in  agreement  with  the  German  Government  or  the  mili- 
tary authorities  of  Germany,  defensive  measures  against  the 
possibility  of  an  Anglo-French  invasion  of  Belgium.   .Yet  th^ 


—    5?    — 

documentary  evidence  which  has  been  found,  proves  that 
Belgium  was  fully  informed  that  such  an  invasion  was  in  the 
intentions  of  the  two  Entente  Powers.  .This  shows  that  the 
Belgian  Government  was  determined  from  the  outset  to  join 
Germany's  enemies  and  make  common  cause  with  them. 

The  above  exposition  convincingly  proves  the  fact  that  the 
same  England  which  is  now  posing  as  the  protector  of  Belgian 
neutrality  forced  Belgium  to  a  onesided  partisanship  in  favor 
of  the  Powers  of  the  Entente,  and  that  she  at  one  time  even 
thought  of  a  violation  of  the  neutrality  of  Holland.  It  is, 
furthermore,  clear  that  the  Belgian  Government,  by  lending  an 
ear  to  English  whisperings,  is  guilty  of  a  severe  violation  of 
the  duties  incumbent  upon  it  as  a  neutral  power.  The  right 
fulfillment  of  these  duties  would  have  compelled  the  Belgian 
Government  to  foresee  in  her  plans  for  defense  the  violation 
of  Belgian  neutrality  by  France  and  to  conclude  with  Germany 
agreements  analogous  to  those  concluded  with  France  and,  for 
this  eventuality,  England.  The  discovered  official  papers  con- 
stitute a  documentary  proof  of  the  fact,  well  known  to  com- 
petent German  authorities  long  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war, 
that  Belgium  connived  with  the  Powers  of  the  Entente.  They 
serve  as  a  justification  of  the  information  obtained  by  the  Ger- 
man military  authorities  about  France's  intentions.  They  may 
open  the  eyes  of  the  Belgian  people  in  regard  to  the  question 
to  whom  it  is  they  owe  the  catastrophe  which  has  swept  over 
the  unfortunate  country. 


Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense. 

Who  began  the  present  war?  Who  is  responsible  for  all 
the  distress  and  destruction,  which  now  sweeps  over  the 
world?  — 

Was  it  Servia,  whose  criminal  politicians  plotted  that  foul 
murder  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Austria  and  his  wife? — ^Was  it 
Russia,  that  would  prevent  Austria  from  punishing  the  cul- 
prits?— Was  it  France,  which  could  not  forget  that  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  was  retaken  by  the  Germans  in  a  fair  way? — Was  it 
Germany,  which  by  sending  her  armies  through  Belgium,  com- 
mitted, as  her  enemies  say,  an  unpardonable  breach  of  neutra- 
Hty? 

In  our  opinion  none  of  them  is  directly  responsible  for  the 
present  catastrophe.  The  guilt  for  the  greatest  crime  in  his- 
tory rests  rather  upon  the  leaders  of  that  nation,  which,  by  its 
boundless  selfishness,  insatiable  greed  and  wretched  shop- 
keepers-spirit became  the  curse  for  almost  all  other  nations  of 
this  globe.  The  awful  charge  rests  first  of  all  with  the  late 
king  Edward  VII,  and  his  evil  adviser  and  executor.  Sir  Edward 
Grey,  the  true  originators  of  that  unholy  conspiracy,  described 
in  our  former  chapter. 

In  her  mad  desire  to  annihilate  Germany,  England  however 
did  not  forget  her  traditional  policy  to  have  her  fighting  done 
by  other  nations. 

Sparing  her  own  soldiers  as  much  as  possible,  she  is  ready 
to  fight  Germany  to  the  very  last  Belgian,  Russian,  French- 
man. She  also  sacrifices  the  sons  of  her  own  colonies,  upon 
whom  she  called  to  assist  "dear  motherland."  And,  indeed, 
Canada,  Australia  and  New  Zealand  were  simple-minded 
enough  to  send  their  young  men,  to  die  in  this  most  ignoble  of 
all  wars  in  history. 

But  in  her  "fight  for  civilization**  England  did  even  more. 
She  transported  armies  of  Indian  Ghoorkas  and  Sikhs  to 
Europe,  telling  them,  that  they  would  partake  in  grand  ma- 
noeuvres and  brilliant  pageants,  with  lots  of  fun  and  pleasure 
and  great  chances  to  make  money.  Not  until  the  German 
shrapnels  crashed  among  these  poor  devils  did  they  realize 
that  they  had  been  deceived  and  brought  to  Europe  to  fight 
unknown  enemies  for  unknown  reasons. 

France,  of  course,  was  also  requested,  to  line  up  once  more 


—     59     — 

her  Turcos  and  Zouaves,  and  her  Blacks  from  Senegambia. 
Russia  was  invited  to  arouse  the  fury  of  her  Cossacks,  Kal- 
mucks and  Tartars. 

What  England  may  do,  when  through  the  efficiency  of  the 
German  soldiers  the  number  of  these  defenders  of  civilization 
have  been  diminished,  nobody  can  foresee.  To  bring  her 
glorious  fight  to  a  glorious  end,  England  may  perhaps  call  also 
her  Eskimos  from  Labrador,  her  Ashantis  and  Zulus  from 
Africa,  and  from  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  all  the  few  Maoris, 
Fijians  and  Papuas  that  have  survived  so  far  England's  bene- 
volent care. 

To  the  historically  unnatural  alliances  with  France  and 
Russia,  England  added  the  most  contemptible  treason  against 
the  whole  white  race,  by  forming  a  league  with  Japan,  the 
Chieftain  of  Mongolism.  And  she  made  guilty  herself  of  the 
most  abominable  crime  against  her  own  race  by  uniting  with 
these  Mongols  in  the  slaughter  of  the  few  brave  defenders  of 
Kiautschau. 

That  not  all  English  citizens  agree  with  this  policy  of  her 
depraved  government,  may  be  judged  from  an  article  by 
Allister  Crowley,  a  well  known  British  poet.  His  article 
"Honesty  is  the  best  Policy,"  unpublished  yet  in  England, 
circulates  there  secretly  in  manuscript.  A  copy  of  it  reached, 
however,  the  United  States  and  has  appeared  in  No.  23  and 
24  of  the  "Fatherland."  In  this  article  Crowley  says:  *'The 
world  has  been  ransacked  of  every  tribe  and  race.  Algerians, 
not  only  of  Arab,  but  of  negroid  and  even  negro  stock,  have 
been  hurled  into  the  line;  India  has  gushed  out  a  venomous 
river  of  black  troops — the  desperate  Ghoorka,  whose  kukri  is 
thrust  upward  through  the  bowels;  the  Pathan,  whose  very 
women  scavenge  the  battlefield  to  rob,  murder,  and  foully 
mutilate  the  dead;  the  fierce  Sikh,  the  lithe  Panjabi,  the  Ben- 
gale  even,  whose  maximum  of  military  achievement  is  the 
Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  I  And,  with  all  that,  we  use  the 
Japanese!  Can  we  complain  if  the  German  papers  say  that  the 
Kaiser  is  fighting  for  culture,  for  civilization,  when  the  flower 
of  the  allied  troops  are  black,  brown  and  yellow  "heathens,** 
the  very  folks,  whom  we  have  stopped  from  hook-swinging, 
suttee,  child-murder,  human  sacrifice  gind  cannibal  feast? 
From  Senegambia,  Morocco,  the  Soudan,  Afghanistan,  every 
wild  band  of  robber  clans,  come  fighting  men  to  slay  the  com- 
patriots of  Kant,  Hegel,  Goethe,  Schiller,  Heine,  Beethoven, 
Wagner,  Mozart,  Duerer,  Helmholtz,  Haeckel,  and  a  million 
others  perhaps  obscurer,  no  less  noble,  men  of  the  Fatherland 
of  music,   of  philosophy,   of  science  and  medicine,   the  land 


—    66    -^ 

where  education  is  a  realty  and  not  a  farce,  the  land  of  Luthet 
and  Melanchton,  the  land  whose  life  blood  washed  out  the 
Ecclesiastical  tyranny  of  the  Dark  Ages!" — 

Thus  writes  a  British  poet,  who,  as  appears  from  the  names 
of  the  great  Germans  he  has  quoted,  is  acquainted  with  the 
achievements  of  the  German  nation. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  Poet  Laureata  of  England,  who 
likens  the  present  war  to  a  conflict  between  Christ  and  the 
devil?  And  what  shall  we  say  of  Conan  Doyle,  H.  G.  Wells, 
Rider  Haggard  and  Rudyard  Kipling,  who  humiliated  them- 
selves by  penning  articles  and  poems,  of  which  we  are  sure 
they  will  be  ashamed  later  on. 

As  Kipling  made  himself  an  ally  of  the  Sikh,  Ghoorkas  and 
Cossacks,  he  deserves  at  least  some  punishment  and  for  this 
reason,  we  publish  here  the  first  five  verses  of  his  poem  on  the 
"German  Huns",  with  which  he  intended  to  stir  the  holy 
wrath  of  all  English  speaking  nations,  but,  instead,  earned  the 
indignation  of  all  sane  thinking  people. 

For  all  we  have  and  are — 

For  all   our  children's   fate — 

Stand  up  and  meet  the  war: 
The  Hun  is  at  the  gate. 

Our  world  has  passed  away 
In  wantonness  o'erthrown; 

There's  nothing  left  to-day 
But  steel  and  fire  and  stone. 

Though  all  we  knew  depart 

The  old  commandments  stand; 

In  courage  keep  your  heart. 
In  strength  lift  your  hand. 

Once  more  we  heard  the  word 
That  sickened  earth  of  old: 

No   law  except  the  sword 

Unsheathed  and  uncontrolled. 

Once  more  it  knits  mankind 
Once  more  the  nations  go 

To  meet  and  break  and  bind 
A  crazed  and  riven  foe. 

We  will,  however,  not  close  this  chapter,  without  giving 
space  to  a  question.   Professor  Thomas  C.   Hall  asked  in  the 


—     61     — 

N.  Y.  Sun,  of  January  1  7th.  *'Can  any  sensible  American  listen 
with  patience  while  the  London  press  teaches  us  that  an  army 
made  up  of  the  flower  of  Germany's  educated  manhood,  in 
which  professors  of  world-wide  fame  serve  as  privates  and 
non-commissioned  officers,  and  in  which  there  is  no  illiterarcy 
and  no  intemperance,  is  a"  horde  of  barbarians,"  in  compa- 
rison to  the  army  of  Turkos,  Sikhs,  London  down-and-outs, 
Ghoorkhas,  Cossacks,  Tartars  from  the  Amur  River,  Japanese, 
Tunisian  Arabs  and  negroes  from  the  Sahara?  And  that  civi- 
lization depends  on  the  victory  of  Russia's  illiterate  and 
drunken  peasantry  under  the  command  of  the  corrupt,  arro- 
gant and  brutal  autocracy,  whose  leading  spirit  is  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas-Nicholaievitch  ? '  * 


The  tentacles  and  ink -sac  of  the 

Giant  Octopus  and  how 

it  uses  them. 

As  pointed  out  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book,  our  Giant 
Octopus  has,  like  real  cuttlefish,  tentacles  and  an  ink-sac,  the 
first  represented  by  the  countless  wires  and  cables,  that  run  out 
from  London  in  all  directions  and  girdle  the  globe.  They  are 
the  most  sensitive  parts  of  the  octopus,  informing  it,  while  it 
lays  in  wait  for  prey,  of  everything  that  is  going  on  in  the 
world. 

Cunning  as  the  English  are,  they  were  among  all  nations 
the  first  to  recognize  that  he  who  controls  the  news  controls 
the  world.  Bearing  this  in  mind,  England  has  for  centuries 
maintained  a  system  of  agencies,  extending  not  only  over  all 
Europe,  but  also  over  other  continents.  It  is  the  duty  of  these 
agencies  to  inform  the  English  Government  not  only  about 
everything  of  interest,  but  by  means  of  clever  intrigues,  to 
keep  alive  quarrels  among  the  different  nations,  from  which 
England  might  profit. 

Since  the  invention  of  telegraphy,  this  work  of  agencies 
has  ben  improved  and  extended  in  every  direction.  To  secure 
important  news  as  early  as  possible,  England  has  made  pro- 
vision not  only  for  unbroken  connection  with  her  colonies  by 
direct  cables,  but  has,  in  fact,  all  continents  webbed  with  a 
perfect  net  of  telegraphs  and  cables.  In  this  respect  England 
has  been  so  successful,  that  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the 
many  millions  of  cable  messages  annually  transmitted  must  first 
pass  through  Englands  hands. 

What  this  means  to  England  becomes  evident,  when  we 
investigate  our  modern  news  service. 

News  is,  as  we  all  know,  often  of  great  value,  especially  to 
statesmen,  bankers,  speculators,  and  naerchants.  Frequently 
it  is  of  decisive  influence  upon  great  enterprises  and  upon  the 
future  of  corporations  and  even  nations.  For  this  reason  news 
is  traded  like  any  other  article  of  exchangeable  value.  But  to 
gather  news  from   all   the  different  parts  of  the  world   is  so 


—     63     — 

difficult  and  expensive,  that  no  newspaper  could  afford  to 
collect  it  single-handed.  To  simplify  and  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  this  process,  news  agencies  have  been  esablished  in  many 
countries.  These  agencies  collect  the  news  in  certain  districts 
and  forward  it  by  telegraph  or  cable  to  London  and  Paris,  the 
principle  news  markets.  London  has  several  news  agencies, 
among  them  the  famous  "Reuter  Telegraph  Company,"  which, 
established  in  1 849,  has  correspondents  in  almost  all  parts 
of  the  world.  Such  agencies  forward  incoming  news  not  only 
to  the  British  Government,  but  also  to  financiers  and  to  all 
papers  which  pay  an  annual  subscription  for  the  service.  Of 
course  all  newspapers  desiring  to  publish  the  latest  news  as 
soon  as  possible  must  of  necessity  avail  themselves  of  this 
service.  Since  only  a  few  of  the  American  dailies  maintain 
offices  and  correspondents  in  Europe,  European  news  must  be 
secured  by  them  from  the  great  London  agencies. 

The  Coloring  of  the  News. 

Now,  nobody  should  assume  that  these  news  agencies  always 
use  straight  forward  methods  in  transmitting  the  various  in- 
coming dispatches  to  their  subscribers.  On  the  contrary. 
Every  incoming  telegram  is  first  submitted  to  the  chief  manager 
who  decides  as  to  whether,  or  as  to  the  form  in  which  it  may 
be  forwarded  to  the  various  newspapers.  If  the  contents  of 
the  message  are  hostile  to  English  interests,  the  dispatch  is 
either  suppressed  entirely  or  often  so  altered  that,  when 
appearing  in  print,  it  is  really  a  falsification  of  the  original. 
Whenever  England  has  differences  with  other  powers,  all  news 
forwarded  by  the  London  agencies  invariably  champions  the 
British  side  of  the  controversy.  Every  telegram  is  colored 
to  suit  England's  interest,  and  this  explains  why,  in  the  case 
of  the  Anglo-Venezuelan  boundary-dispute,  the  European 
press  was  unable  to  arrive  at  an  impartial  point  of  view  as  our 
American  press  is  handicapped  to-day  in  obtaining  correct 
information  with  regard  to  the  true  causes  and  events  of  the 
great  European  war. 

Whenever  England  has  a  chance  to  profit  directly  or  in- 
directly from  foreign  quarrels,  the  London  agencies  make  it 
their  business  to  disseminate  everywhere — though  particularly 
in  those  countries  whose  inhabitants  have  a  limited  education 
and  are  inclined  to  believe  everything  they  see  in  print — 
alleged  reports,  interviews  and  events,  which  may  strain  rela- 
tions and  destroy  an  amicable  settlement.  The  ingenuity  with 
which  fabrications  of  this  kind  are  prepared  usually  insure 
success.     British  unscrupulousness  in  the  choice  of  these  means 


—     64     — 

has  become  proverbial,  and  "Perfidious  Albion"  is  a  character- 
istic synonym  for  England,  which  originating  in  France,  was 
readily  accepted  by  the  rest  of  the  world. 

But  never  before  have  English  news  agencies  developed 
such  intense  activity  as  we  are  witnessing  since  the  beginning 
of  the  present  crisis.  The  most  transparent  falsehoods  and 
libels  have  been  invented  to  incite  the  whole  world  against 
Germany  and  Austria.  England,  fully  aware  that  this  time  she 
runs  greater  risks  than  ever  before,  that  her  existence  is  at 
stake,  makes  gigantic  efforts  to  crush  Germany,  her  most 
powerful  rival  in  commerce,  for  all  times. 

In  order  to  attain  this  end,  and  relying  on  the  fact  that  most 
nations  in  time  forget  their  own  history  and  their  own 
experiences  with  British  treachery,  England  has  for  a  number 
of  years  strived  to  enlist  for  herself  the  aid  of  all  other  coun- 
tries and  to  rob,  at  the  same  time  Germany  of  the  sympathies 
of  all  friends  she  might  have  had. 

The  Poisoning  of  the  News. 

To  accomplish  this  the  English  statesmen  and  their  obedient 
servants,  the  managers  of  the  news  bureaus,  the  editors  and 
editorial  writers  of  numerous  newspapers  have  made  it  their 
mission,  to  prejudice  public  opinion  of  all  the  world  against 
everything  German  by  polluting  the  news  concerning  Germany 
and  her  affairs.  These  methods  have  been  for  years  often  so 
base  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  the  Germans  at  home  as  well 
as  for  those  living  in  other  countries,  to  protest  energetically 
against  such  vilification. 

To  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  this  poisoning  is  done,  I 
give  the  following  facts:  When,  in  1909,  McClure's  Magazine 
published  a  number  of  articles  treating  of  the  strained  relations 
between  England  and  Germany  (including  my  essay,  "Modern 
Germany — An  Object  Lesson"),  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  in- 
form Mr.  S.  S.  McClure,  at  that  time  editor  of  that  magazine, 
that  several  assertions  made  by  H.  R.  Chamberlain,  the  London 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Sun,  in  his  article  entitled  "The 
Ominous  Hush  in  Europe,"  and  published  in  McClures,  were 
malicious  falsehoods  invented  for  the  purpose  of  making  Ger- 
many appear  to  be  waiting  for  a  favorable  moment  "to  make 
a  sudden  invasion  of  England,  a  dash  to  London,  and  the  levy- 
ing of  a  war  indemnity  twice  as  heavy  as  that  which  France 
paid  in   1  870." 

I  denied  not  only  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  but  also  of  the 
statement  that  on  all  German  Men  of -War  a  * 'silent  toast" 
was  drunk  after  each  meal  with  only  the  words  "To  the  Dayl" 


—     65     — 

This  fairy  story  which  had  previously  made  the  round  of 
the  British  magazines  and  papers,  was  repeated  by  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain, who,  in  an  effort  to  make  it  appear  more  likely,  added 
the  following  words:  "An  English  chaplain  told  me  that  this 
toast  was  drunk  even  in  his  presence  when  he  happened  to  be 
a  visitor  on  a  German  cruiser  a  few  weeks  ago.  The  Senior 
Officer  at  the  ward-room  table  raised  his  glass  with  the  words: 
'To  the  Day!',  and  all  present  stood  and  drank  silently  and 
solemnly.  When  my  friend  asked  his  host  what  it  meant  he 
received  the  frank  reply  'OI  We  always  drink  on  German  war- 
ships to  the  day  when  war  shall  be  declared  between  England 
and  Germany.'  " 

At  the  time  when  Chamberlain's  article  appeared,  he 
happened  to  be  in  New  York,  Mr.  McClure  therefore  asked 
me  if  I  would  repeat  my  criticism  in  Mr.  Chamberlain's 
presence,  and  I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Mr.  McClure  now 
arranged  for  a  meeting  and  I  succeeded  in  drawing  from  Mr. 
Chamberlain  the  confession  that  he  did  not  personally  hear 
the  story  of  the  "silent  toast"  from  the  "English  chaplain," 
but  from  a  friend  of  that  gentleman,  and  that  he  (Chamber- 
lain) repeated  it  in  good  faith. 

As  I  was  anxious  that  Mr.  McClure  should  remain  friendly 
to  Germany,  and,  further,  to  convince  him  of  the  merit  of  my 
criticism,  I  arranged  an  interview  between  him  and  Grand 
Admiral  von  Koester  who  happened  just  then  to  be  in  New 
York  as  the  Kaiser's  representative  at  the  Hudson-Fulton 
Celebration. 

In  the  course  of  this  interview  the  Grand  Admiral  em- 
phatically assured  Mr.  McClure  that  a  "silent  toast,"  such  as 
described  by  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  never  been  proposed  on 
any  German  warship,  and  that,  therefore,  the  personality  of 
the  "English  chaplain,"  Mr.  Chamberlain's  chief  witness,  must 
have  been  a  phantom. 

In  giving  the  details  of  this  special  case  I  was  actuated  by  the 
possibility  of  exposing  one  of  the  numerous  fabrications  which 
in  endless  variety,  are  doled  out  to  the  public  by  English  jour- 
nalists and  by  such  papers  as  are  open  to  British  influence  or 
become,  as  in  this  case,  unknowingly  the  victims  of  such  false- 
hoods. 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war,  this  poisoning  of  the 
world's  press  has  reached  an  unbelievable  extent.  Especially 
in  neutral  countries,  and  above  all,  in  the  United  States.  As 
the  latter  concerns  us  particularly,  let  us  see,  how  England 
goes  about  it. 

To  counterbalance  and  fight  foreign  influence  and  to  further 


—     66     — 

her  own  interests,  England  not  only  supports  newspapers  in 
New  York  and  other  cities  of  the  United  States,  but  also  a  con- 
siderable number  of  journalists.  All  who  are  familiar  with 
our  American  press  know  that  on  the  staff  of  many  newspapers 
and  magaines  there  are  editors  and  editorial  writers  of  English, 
Scotch  or  Canadian  birth  and  education.  Very  few  of  these 
are  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Even  larger  in  proportion 
is  the  number  of  native  English  correspondents  in  England  and 
on  the  European  continent,  who  provide  our  American  papers 
with  European  news.  Now,  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  our  large 
American  papers  owe  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  their  foreign 
items  to  the  London  agencies,  and  that  this  news  is  retailed  by 
them  to  the  country  papers,  we  see  that  the  whole  American 
public  reads  only  such  foreign  news  as  has  been  prepared  for 
them  by  Englishmen,  Scotch  or  Canadians.  This  circumstance 
explains  the  exceedingly  bitter  anti-German  attitude  of  almost 
all  American  papers  printed  in  English,  an  attitude,  which 
many  thousands  of  Americans,  who  know  Germany,  her  con- 
ditions and  inhabitants  from  their  own  journeys,  were  utterly 
unable  to  comprehend. 

The  situation  grew  worse  when  the  British,  on  August 
5  th,  cut  the  only  German  cable  that  connected  Germany  with 
the  United  States  directly.  As,  at  the  same  time  the  wireless 
station  in  Sayville  was  put  under  the  censorship  of  the  United 
States,  which  proved  "neutral  pro-British,"  Germany  was 
robbed  of  all  means  of  defending  herself.  So  her  good  name 
was  slurred  with  the  evil-smelling  fluid,  the  Giant  Octopus  in 
incredible  quantities  ejected  from  its  ink-sac. 

The  poison  came  in  form  of  cablegrams  and  wireless 
messages,  in  letters,  in  contributions  to  newspapers  and 
magazines,  and  there  was  system  in  these  scurrilous  attacks. 

The  Octopus  did  not  waste  its  black  liquid,  but  directed  it 
toward  such  points,  where  it  would  do  the  greatest  harm  and 
hurt  most. 

The  chief  aim  of  these  calumnies  was  to  fix  the  responsibility 
for  the  present  war  with  Germany  in  general,  and  with  the 
Kaiser  in  particular,  who  was  decried  as  the  "War-Lord,"  the 
personification  of  imperialistic  war  lust  and  of  autocratic  mega- 
lomania by  the  grace  of  God. 

Similar  slanders  were  squirted  against  the  German  people, 
and  the  German  army,  and,  most  vehemently,  against  German 
"Militarism,"  the  damnable  root  of  all  evil.  This  calumny, 
originated  in  London,  found  its  echo  in  all  countries,  where 
British  money  had  prepared   for  such  contemptible  warfare. 


The  German  Emperor,  Lord  of  War 
or  Prince  of  Peace? 

When  the  war  broke  out  and  surprised  humanity  asked  itself 
the  question:  "Who  started  it?"  the  British  Government,  to 
cloak  its  guilt  in  this  greatest  of  all  crimes  in  history,  at 
once  singled  out  the  most  conspicuous  personality  in  Europe, 
the  German  Emperor,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  had 
despatched  telegram  after  telegram  to  the  Tsar,  as  well  as  to 
the  King  of  England,  urging  them  to  avoid  a  calamity,  which 
would  involve  the  world. 

Those,  who  study  these  documents  and  the  telegram  Prince 
Henry  of  Prussia  sent  to  the  King  of  England  on  July  30th, 
1914,  must  be  convinced,  that  the  Emperor,  as  Prince  Henry 
had  stated,  was  "trying  his  utmost  to  work  for  the  maintenance 
of  peace." 

But  all  efforts  were  in  vain,  as  the  English,  French,  Belgian 
and  Russian  conspirators  had  made  up  their  mind,  to  have 
war. 

As,  however,  a  scape-goat  was  needed,  the  Emperor  was 
singled  out  for  this  role,  because  he  was  the  common  enemy, 
and  the  very  person,  upon  whom  the  dreadful  responsibility 
might  be  placed  for  causing  the  war. 

Had  he,  since  his  ascent  to  the  throne,  not  been  spoken  of 
as  "the  War  Lord,"  of  whose  impulse  everything  might  be 
expected  ? 

The  orders,  once  given,  put  the  whole  machinery  of  the 
English  Press  in  motion.  Cunning  writers,  in  pay  of  the 
Government  and  in  the  service  of  the  London  News  Agencies 
went  to  work,  to  assail  the  Emperor.  He  was  promptly  pro- 
nounced mad,  and  charged  with  the  Napoleonic  ambition  of 
bringing  all  Europe,  nay,  the  whole  world,  to  his  feet. 

The  Emperor  assailed. 

To  illustrate  the  manner,  in  which  the  Emperor  wets  treated 
by  these  venal  scribblers,  we  give  here  some  of  the  many  epi- 
thets, that  were  flung  at  this  highest  representative  of  the 
German  nation:  "The  Maniac  Emperor;"  "The  Monumental 
Murderer;"    "That  Menace   of    Mankind;"     "Over    Lord    of 


—     68     — 

Europe;**  * 'Colossal  Blunderer;'*  "The  Meddler  of  Potsdam;" 
"The  General  Nuisance;"  "Nosey  Willie;"  "The  Wild  Man  of 
Europe;"  "The  Imperial  Lunatic;"  "The  Mad  Mullah  of 
Europe;"  "The  Modem  Nero;**  "The  Mad  Boar  of  Prussia;'* 
"The  Arch  Criminal  of  His  Race;"  "The  Modern  Attila;"  etc. 
And  to  show,  how  the  British  Press  ignored  everything  the 
Emperor  had  done  for  his  country  and  Europe,  we  select  a 
few  editorials  of  magazines  and  papers  that  pretend  to  voice 
the  serious  minded  people  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  "English  Review"  of  October  had  the  following  article 
of  its  editor  on"The  Kaiser's  Failures." 

"More  twaddle  has  been  written  about  the  Kaiser  than  of 
any  sovereign  since  Napoleon.     No  man  living  ever  had  greater 
opportunities,  finer  material  to  etch  upon,  greater  freedom  and 
greater  responsibilities.     With  the  smallest  amount  of  political 
and  wordly  astuteness  he  could  have  placated  France,  made 
friends  with  England  until  his  navy  was  really  able  to  sail  out 
into  the  open  and  meet  us  and  very  likely  have  created  the 
larger  Germany.     That  he  failed  is  due  simply  to  his  inherent 
littleness  and  to  his  overpowering  vanity.      In  realty  he  is  the 
creature  of  his  age — the  age  of  advertisement,    false  values, 
press  sensation,  talk  and  shallowness.     Everything  he  touched 
he  vulgarized.     He  has  turned  Berlin  into  a  sink  of  debauch- 
ery and  plastered  the  city  over  with  crude  and  vulgar  statuary. 
The  only  thing  he  gave  to  German  manhood  is  the  imperial 
moustache  and  "Kaiser  Champagne."     He  has  prostituted  the 
sects    of    German    learning    into    school    rooms    of    imperial 
blather,  unfocussed  the  whole  lens  of  public  sanity  and  useful- 
ness, stifled  and  held  down  all  that  was  great  and  good  in  the 
German  conscience.     Under  his  shadow  not  a  noble  German 
thought  has  been  borne,  not  a  great  man  has  appeared.     Like 
a  mastodonic  Actor-Manager,   he  has  poured   out  this  banal 
messages  upon  the  stage  of  an  astonished   Europe  and   at  a 
newspaper     "par"   wherever  he  looked.      That  the  Germans 
took  him  seriously  will  assuredly  be  one  of  the  mysteries  of 
civilization;  that  he  took  himself  serious  is  Germany's  undoing. 
As  he  swept  away  in  his  vainglorious  reign  all  the  old  German 
virtues,  so  he  has  gone  on  stumbling  from  one  blunder  to  an- 
other, the  Cockatoo  War  Lord  of  Europe.  And  now  the  neme- 
sis that  overtakes  finally  all  evil-doers  awaits  him.      Not  till 
he  is  struck  down  will  the  error  and  falsity  that  he  has  set  up 
be  removed  and  the  great  German  people  return    to    their 
senses.** 

The  London  "Times"  published   an   article,  penned  by  Fre- 
derick Harrison,  from  which  we  quote  the  following  sentences: 


—    69    — 

"Be  it  understood  that  when  the  allies  have  finally  crushed 
this  monstrous  brood,  the  Kaiser — if  indeed  he  choose  to  sur- 
vive— shall  be  submitted  to  the  degradation  inflicted  on  poor 

Dreyfus.  In  presence  of  all  allied  troops,  let  his  blood-stained 
sword  be  broken  on  his  craven  back  and  the  uniform  and 
orders  of  which  he  is  so  childishly  proud  be  stamped  in  the 
mire.  And  if  he  lives  through  it,  St.  Helena  or  the  Devil's 
Island,  might  be  his  prison  and  his  grave." 

Strange  to  say,  the  most  savage  attacks  on  the  unfortunate 
Emperor  were  made  however  by  some  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

The  "British  Weekly"  of  October  8,  had,  for  instance,  an 
article  by  Rev.  Principal  Alexander  Whyte,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  on 
"A  Case  of  Kaiserism  in  Israel  with  some  of  its  lessons  to  our- 
selves" based  on  1  Chron.  XXII,  in  which  occur  erpressions 
like  these: 

"The  present  German  Emperor  is  David  over  again,  in  his 
high  seat  and  in  his  impious  and  insolent  and  murderous  mad- 
ness for  war.  Satan  possessed  man  who  now  sits  on  the  throne 
of  Germany.  German  Kaiser* s  satanic  contempt  of  Belgium, 
and  his  satanic  scorn  of  France  and  his  satanic  envy  and  hatred 
of  England.     Our  devil-tempted  Kaiser." 

Such  gross  insults,  by  which  the  perpetrators  really  degraded 
themselves,  awakened  echoes  in  all  other  English  speaking 
countries,  especially  in  the  United  States  of  America,  where 
another  advocate  of  Christian  Love,  Rev.  Dr.  Charles 
H.  Parkhurst  of  New  York,  furnished  the  New  York  "Times" 
with  the  following  fierce  tirade: 

"When  a  mad  dog  runs  amuck,  the  policeman  shoots  him  on 
the  spot — not  by  way  of  revenge,  but  as  a  humanitarian  contri- 
bution to  the  security  of  the  public.  Now,  has  a  more  rabid 
creature  than  Emperor  William  ever  run  amuck  through  the 
peaceful  and  prosperous  domain  of  Europe?  The  policeman 
makes  no  argument  with  the  dog  and  enters  into  no  com- 
promise with  him,  but  deals  with  him  in  exclusive  regard  to  the 
requirements  of  society,  and  simply  blots  him  out  as  a  public 
menace." 

The  Emperor  hailed  as  a  Prince  of  Peace. 

In  strange  contrast  to  such  vicious  outbursts  of  men,  of 
whom  probably  no  one  ever  saw  the  Emperor  or  studied  his 
life  work  stand  the  sentences  of  men,  who  either  came  per- 
sonally or  officially  in  contact  with  him. 

When  in  1913  the  German  nation  celebrated  the  25  th 
anniversary  of  the  ascendance  of  the  Emperor  to  the  throne, 
the  same  N.  Y.  Times,  that  held  it  for  opportune  to  open  her 


—     70    — 

columns  to  the  vulgarities  of  Rev.  Parkhurst,  devoted  in  its 
Sunday  edition  of  June  8,  1  9  1  3  to  the  Emperor  a  whole  page, 
in  which  he  is^'Hailed  as  Chief  Peacemaker." 

And  a  sub-title  says:  "Men  of  Mark  in  and  out  of  His  Do- 
minions Write  Exclusively  for  the  New  York  Times.  Their 
High  Opinion  of  His  Work  in  Behalf  of  Peace  and  Progress." 

The  first  of  these  enthusiastic  contributors  is  former  Pre- 
sident of  the  United  States,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  who  during 
his  term,  exchanged  many  letters  with  the  Kaiser,  and,  later  on, 
was  for  some  time  his  guest.     He  writes: 

"The  one  man  outside  this  country  from  whom  I  obtained 
help  in  bringing  about  the  Peace  of  Portsmouth  was  his  Majesty 
William  II.  From  no  other  nation  did  I  receive  any  assistance, 
but  the  Emperor  personally,  and  through  his  Ambassador  in 
St.  Petersburg,  was  of  real  aid  in  helping  induce  Russia  to  face 
the  accomplished  fact  and  come  to  an  agreement  with  Japan — 
an  agreement  the  justice  of  which  to  both  sides  was  conclusively 
shown  by  the  fact  that  neither  side  was  satisfied  with  it. 

This  was  a  real  help  to  the  cause  of  international  peace,  a 
contribution  that  far  outweighed  any  amout  of  mere  talk  about 
it  in  the  abstract,  for  in  this  as  in  all  other  matters  an  ounce 
of  performance  is  worth  a  ton  of  promise." 

Another  of  the  contributors  was  former  President  of  the 
United  States,  Wm.  H.  Taft. 

"The  proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eating.  When  the 
German  Emperor  went  upon  the  throne  and  developed  his 
independence  of  Bismarck,  and  his  intention  to  exercise  his 
own  will  in  the  discharge  of  his  high  functions,  there  were 
many  prophecies,  that  this  meant  a  disturbance  of  the  peace  of 
Europe.  Instead  of  that,  the  truth  of  history  requires  the  ver- 
dict, that,  considering  the  critically  important  part  which  has 
been  his  among  the  nations,  he  has  been,  for  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  the  greatest  single  individual  force  in  the  prac- 
tical maintenance  of  peace  in  the  world." 

From  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  Brother-in-law  of  King  Edward 
VII.,  came  the  following  lines: 

"The  German  Emperor's  life  has  been  worthy  of  his  father 
and  of  his  mother,  and  no  higher  praise  can  be  rendered  in 
grateful  acknowledgment  of  a  great  career — great  with  the 
abounding  blessings  of  peace  through  steadfast  striving  for 
strength,  and  duty  done  for  his  people  and  his  justice  to  his 
neighbors. 

His  mother's  nation  was  enthusiastic,  loyal  to  his  ideals,  and 
ever  able  to  make  honesty  of  purpose  unite  with  poetic  and 
artistic  temperament.     Her  clear  mind  and  wide  discernment 


—     71      — 

enabled  her  to  place  all  matters  in  their  true  perspective.  Her 
son  inherited  her  gifts,  with  his  father's  truth  and  gallant  stead- 
fastness. 

This  generation  of  Germans  have  good  reasons  to  be  proud 
and  to  love  their  patriotic  Emperor." 

Sir  Gilbert  Parker,  Member  of  the  British  Parliament 
expressed  his  admiration  thus: 

"The  highest  praise  that  I  can  offer  concerning  the  Emperor 
William  II.  is  that  he  would  have  made  as  good  a  King  of 
England  as  our  history  has  provided,  and  as  good  a  President 
of  the  United  States  as  any  since  George  Washington. 

It  was  said  of  the  Emperor  William  that  he  was  medieval 
in  his  war  spirit,  but  he  has  proved  himself  to  be  a  modern 
keeper  of  the  peace.  He  was  declared  to  be  reckless,  and  the 
worst  that  can  be  said  of  him  after  twenty-five  years  is  that 
he  is  impulsive.  The  world  has  never  been  hard  upon  men  of 
impulse  who  are  at  the  same  time  reckless  and  selfish,  and 
the  Emperor  William  is  neither  of  these. 

When  he  became  Emperor  Germany — and  Prussia  partic- 
ularly— ^was  rigid,  narrow,  and  pedantic  in  all  too  many  re- 
spects. Under  his  enlightened,  tolerant,  and  broad-minded 
guidance  she  has  become  resilient,  absorptive  and  almost  im- 
pulsive adaptable. 

The  world  owes  the  Emperor  William  a  debt  of  gratitude. 
He  might  have  found  cause  to  reap  advantage  from  European 
embroilment  of  his  own  making,  but  he  has  proved  himself 
among  the  most  civilized  internationally  patriotic  of  rulers." 

And  Lord  Blyth  added  to  this: 

"The  quarter  of  a  century  during  which  the  Emperor  has 
held  the  reigns  of  power  with  the  whole-hearted  will  of  the 
great  German  people  has  happily  been  peaceful  for  them,  and, 
as  far  as  Europe  is  concerned,  peaceful  for  us.  The  simple  fact 
of  peace  having  been  maintained  during  his  reign  of  twenty- 
five  years  speaks  for  itself." 

In  concluding  I  quote  Professor  Dr.  John  W.  Burgess,  who 
as  Roosevelt  Professor  in  Berlin  had  frequently  been  with  the 
Emperor.  In  the  beautiful  article  "The  German  Emperor," 
written  in  October  1914  for  the  N.  Y.  Times,  he  says:  "In 
spite  of  this  terrible  war,  the  responsibility  for  which  is  by  so 
many  erroneously  laid  at  his  door,  I  firmly  believe  him  to  be  a 
man  of  peace.  I  am  absolutely  sure  that  he  has  entered  upon 
this  war  only  under  the  firm  conviction  that  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Russia  have  conspired  to  destroy  Germany  as  a 
world  power,  and  that  he  is  simply  defending,  as  he  said  in  his 
memorable  speech  to  the  Reichstag,  the  place  which  God  had 


—     72     — 

given  the  Germans  to  dwell  on.  I  firmly  believe  that  there 
is  no  soul  in  this  wide  world  upon  whom  the  burden  and  grief 
of  this  great  catastrophe  so  heavily  rests  as  upon  the  German 
Emperor. 

I  have  heard  him  declare  with  the  greatest  earnestness  and 
solemnity  that  he  considered  war  a  dire  calamity;  that  Ger- 
many would  never  during  his  reign  wage  an  offensive  war,  and 
that  he  hoped  God  would  spare  him  from  the  necessity  of  ever 
having  to  conduct  a  defensive  war.  For  years  he  has  been 
conscious  that  British  diplomacy  was  seeking  to  isolate  and 
crush  Germany  by  an  alliance  of  Latin,  Slav,  and  Mongol  under 
British  direction,  and  he  sought  in  every  way  to  avert  it.  He 
visited  England  himself  frequently.  He  sent  his  Ministers  of 
State  over  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  and  friendship  of  the 
British  Ministers,  but  rarely  would  the  British  King  go  himself 
to  Germany  or  send  his  Ministers  to  return  these  visits.  More 
than  once  have  I  heard  him  say  that  he  was  most  earnestly 
desirous  of  close  friendship  between  Germany,  Great  Britain, 
and  the  United  States,  and  had  done,  was  doing,  and  would 
continue  to  do,  all  in,  his  power  to  promote  it,  but  that  while 
the  Americans  were  cordially  meeting  Germany  half  way,  the 
British  were  cold,  suspicious,   and  repellent." 

The  Emperor  himself  has  never  failed  to  assert  his  earnest 
resolution  to  maintain  peace. 

In  1905,  opening  the  Kiel  Canal,  he  declared  "the  eyes  of 
the  whole  world  are  lifted  questioningly  towards  us.  They  sue 
for  peace;  only  in  peace  can  the  world  be  developed,  in  peace 
only  can  it  prosper.  We  desire  to  maintain  peace,  and  will 
do  so.** 

And  ten  years  later,  on  March  22,  1  905,  he  said  in  Bremen: 
"When  I  was  called  to  my  office,  I  solemnly  took  the  oath,  that, 
so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  after  the  glorious  days  of  my  grand- 
father, bayonets  and  canons  should  rest,  but  ought  to  be  kept 
sharp  and  efficient,  so  that  no  foreign  envy  and  greed  should 
disturb  us  in  the  work  of  finishing  our  Garden  and  our  beauti- 
ful Home.  Believing  in  the  lessons  of  history,  I  resolved  never 
to  aspire  for  an  empty  worlds  empire.  For  what  became  of 
all  these  so  called  worlds  empires?  Alexander  the  Great, 
Napoleon,  and  all  the  other  famous  heroes,  that  waded 
through  blood,  left  after  them  conquered  nations,  who  at  the 
first  favorable  moment  revolted  and  made  the  empire  decay. 
The  world  empire,  of  which  I  dream,  shall  consist  for  all  in  a 
German  Empire,  which  might  enjoy  from  all  sides  the  absolute 
confidence  as  an  honest  and  peaceful  neighbor,  and  that,  if  his- 
tory should  speak  of  a  German  World's  Empire  or  that  of  the 


—     73     — 

Hohenzollern,  this  empire  should  not  be  said  to  have  been 
founded  upon  conquest  through  the  sword,  but  upon  the 
mutual  confidence  of  the  nations,  striving  for  the  same  goal.** 

And  if  you  now  ask,  what  the  German  nation,  which  of  all 
the  nations  is  most  concerned  in  the  person  of  the  Emperor, 
thinks  of  him,  I  wish  to  state  here  the  following:  Having  been 
in  constant  contact  with  the  German  people,  having  lectured 
during  the  last  thirty  years  in  almost  every  city  of  Germany, 
I  am  able  to  say,  that  the  much  slandered  Emperor  and  his 
nation  are  in  perfect  harmony,  and  that  he  occupies  in  the 
hearts  of  his  people  a  much  higher  place  than  any  English  king 
ever  held  among  his  countrymen.  This  devotion  is  shown  by 
the  fact,  that  the  peace  loving  German  nation  at  his  call  like 
one  man  in  a  wonderful  enthusiasm  marched  into  this  dread- 
ful war,  and  that  millions  of  young  men  volunteered  for  service 
who  were  legally  exempt  from  it. They  are  not  only  willing  to 
defend  their  fatherland  against  hostile  invasions,  but  to  stand 
also  for  their  emperor  in  whom  they  have  full  confidence. 

"Die  Weltgeschichte  ist  das  Weltgericht"  ("World's  History 
is  the  World's  Judgment.")  We  firmly  believe,  that  though 
the  Emperor  is  compelled  to  conduct  the  most  murderous  war 
in  history,  he  will  be  remembered  not  as  a  grim  "War  Lord,'* 
but  as  an  Emperor  of  Peace. 


German  atrocities  —  "made  in 
England." 

Andrew  D.  White,  the  President  emeritus  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity and  for  a  number  of  years  American  ambassador  to 
Germany,  made  in  a  Fourth  of  July  oration  in  1  889  the  follow- 
ing remarks  about  Germany:  "We  may  well  recognize  in  Ger- 
many another  mother  country,  one  with  which  our  own  land 
should  remain  in  warmest  alliance.  For,  from  the  universities 
and  institutions  for  advanced  learning  in  Germany,  far  more 
than  from  those  of  any  other  land,  have  come  and  are  coming 
the  influences  which  have  shaped  and  are  shaping  advanced 
education  in  the  United  States." 

Knowing  Andrew  D.  White  personally  and  from  his  works,  I 
am  convinced  that  the  views  expressed  in  the  above  lines  were 
his  true  opinion,  based  on  a  thorough  knowledge  of  facts,  inas- 
much as  he,  like  Ticknor,  Everett,  Bancroft,  Longfellow  and 
many  other  famous  Americans  had  studied  at  German  univer- 
sities and  lived  there  for  many  years.  Since  that  time  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  Anxericans  have  followed  their  example  and 
returned  to  the  United  States  with  similar  beliefs  and  like  ex- 
pressions of  thanks  toward  the  land,  that  had  given  them 
hospitality  as  well  as  intellectual  wealth. 

Now  these  same  scholars  and  all  the  many  millions  of  other 
Americans  who  loved  to  travel  in  Germany,  have  been  fed 
with  newspapers,  which  try  to  make  them  believe,  that  begin- 
ning with  August  1 ,  1914  the  German  nation  turned  suddenly 
to  Huns,  who  treated  unoffending  American  tourists  and  their 
wives  as  spies  in  barbarous  manner,  stripped  them  publicly, 
searched  them  and  exposed  them  to  unbearable  indignities. 

During  the  months  of  August  and  September  there  was  not 
one  British  and  pro-British  American  paper,  whose  columns 
did  not  overflow  with  accounts  of  Gernxan  atrocities. 

None  of  them  proved  true.  They  all  turned  out  to  be  in- 
ventions of  obscure  scribblers  in  the  pay  of  British  news  agen- 
cies, or  of  hysterical  Germanophobes,  desirous  of  taking  part  in 
the  defamation  of  the  German  nation.  Indeed,  when  the  many 
American  tourists,  who,  like  the  Germans  themselves  had  been 
surprised  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  returned  to  the  United 


—     75     — 

States,  they  contradicted  these  stories  vehemently  and  made 
known  instead  their  expression  of  gratitude  for  the  fine  treat- 
ment they  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  German  nation  in 
the  initial  days  of  the  war  drama. 

One  of  the  most  significant  testimonials  of  this  kind  is  an 
open  letter,  written  on  September  2]8t  on  board  the  steamer 
Nieuw  Amsterdam,  and  addressed  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.     It  reads  as  follows: 

Sir: — We,  the  undersigned  citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  returning  from  Germany  and  believing  from 
cables,  letters  and  newspapers  received  by  us,  that  there  is 
in  America  a  widespread  opinion  that  Americans  have  been 
accorded  ill-treatment  in  Germany,  beg  leave  to  present  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States  the  following  statement: 

**We  have  no  desire  to  discuss  the  causes  leading  to  the 
present  European  war,  its  aspect  as  this  time  or  its  possible 
result.  We  wish  only  to  state  that,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  we  who  have  been  in  Germany  during  July,  August  and 
a  part  of  September,  have  been  accorded  every  courtesy  and 
every  care. 

**The  experiences  of  the  generosity  shown  by  individual 
Germans  are  legion,  and  will  be  related  wherever  the  recip- 
ients and  their  friends  go;  but  to  the  German  Government 
itself  great  credit  and  thanks  are  due.  Even  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Relief  Committee  from  America  the  German 
authorities  had  taken  prompt  steps  to  secure  the  comfort 
of  their  Am,erican  guests.  At  a  time  when  all  the  railway 
facilities  were  required  by  the  army,  special  trains  were 
run  to  carry  Americans  to  Holland.  American  automobilists 
were  accorded  the  same  privileges  as  the  Germans  and 
suffered  far  less  than  did  the  natives  from  the  national  over- 
zealousness  of  the  local  guards.  During  the  days  when  inter- 
national finances  were  unsettled,  certain  bankers  and  muni- 
cipal governments  made  it  possible  for  many  Americans  to 
draw  on  letters  of  credit. 

"When  England's  declaration  of  war  tended  to  render 
people  suspicious  of  those  who  spoke  English,  the  news- 
papers systematically  urged  everyone  to  be  kind  to  Ameri- 
cans; and  the  police  of  the  various  cities  were  most  scrupulous 
to  give  their  full  rights  to  all  who  could  establish  their  Ame- 
rican citizenship.  In  truth  the  attitude  of  all  Germany, 
throughout  this  whole  situation,  has  been  one  of  serious  con- 
sideration for  the  safety  and  comfort  of  all  the  strangers 
y^ithin  her  gates. 


—     76     — 

"We  desire  that  this  statement  may  be  taken  as  it  is  in- 
tended, a  simple  token  of  appreciation  for  a  people  who, 
with  all  their  difficulties,  have  kept  sane  and  have  accorded 
to  Americans  protection  and  hospitality. 

"We,  the  undersigned,  make  this  statement  relying  on,  the 
fairness  and  justice  of  the  American  people." 
The  above  letter  to  President  Wilson  was  signed  by    787 
citizens  of  the  United  States  from  36  States. 

Similar  letters  of  thanks  and  appreciation  have  appeared  by 
thousands  of  American  and  even  English  tourists,  among  them 
Mrs.  Benj.  Harrison,  widow  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  Lady  Acton,  Madame  Adelina  Patti,  Mrs.  Frank  Os- 
born,  Regent  of  the  Daughters  of  American  Revolution,  and 
others. 

The  last  named  lady  took  the  opportunity  to  express  her 
admiration  and  gratefulness  toward  the  German  nation  in  a 
wonderful  speech,  delivered  in  a  meeting  of  "The  American 
women  of  German  descent,"  held  in  New  York. 

In  regard  to  Madame  Patti,  who  was  in  Carlsbad  at  that 
time,  it  was  reported,  she  had  a  particularly  unpleasant  time. 
Fortunately  she  happened  to  see  the  story  and  promptly  issued 
a  denial,  even  going  further  and  stating  she  received  every 
courtesy  at  the  hands  of  the  German  officials. 

To  illustrate  the  manner,  in  which  English  fiction  writers 
made  the  German  nation  their  victims,  we  relate  a  story  Vance 
Thompson  gave  the  readers  of  his  paper  as  a  product  from  his 
fertile  brain.  It  appeared  under  the  glaring  head-line: 
The  Kissing  of  the  Sword. 
In  his  story  the  author  tells,  that  the  ladies  of  the  upper  four 
hundred  of  Munich  were  assembled  at  a  five-o'clock  tea  in 
one  of  the  fashionable  hotels  of  that  city.  Suddenly  there 
appeared  the  Crown  Prince  Rupprecht  of  Bavaria  amidst  these 
fairies,  with  his  sabre  newly  sharpened  and  his  loins  girt  for 
war.  His  wife  ran  up  to  him,  kissed  the  sword  and  shouted: 
"Bring  it  back  to  me,  covered  with  blood — that  I  may  kiss  it 
again."  All  other  ladies  present  followed  the  example  of  the 
Crown  Princess  and  kissed  the  sword. 

That  this  act  never  happened  and  that  the  whole  story  was 
nothing  but  a  fake,  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that  the  wife 
of  Crown  Prince  Rupprecht  had  departed  this  life  in  October 
1912. 

The  most  infamous  lies,  invented  by  hirelings  and  fiction 
writers  of  the  British  Government  and  News  Agencies,  have 
been  and  are  still  directed  against  the  German  army,  of  whose 


—     77    — 

high  moral  standard  and  noble  traditions  the  German  nation 
is  justly  proud.  Thousands  of  American  tourists  have  seen 
them  marching  to  war  and  many  are  their  enthusiastic 
descriptions  of  the  wonderful  discipline  and  splendid  behavior, 
by  which  these  soldiers  were  distinguished. 

British  papers,  however,  have  described  these  same  soldiers 
as  bloodthirsty  Huns  wiping  their  muddy  boots  on  costly  Go- 
belin tapestry,  and  committing  the  most  abominable  atrocities. 

In  huge  type  there  appeared  head-lines  like  these: 

GERMANS  BURN  VILLAGES;  WOMAN  AND  CHILDREN 

ARE  SHOT. 

In  the  body  of  the  article  it  was  asserted  that  German 
soldiers  had  saturated  mattresses  with  oil,  lighted  them  and 
thrown  them  into  cellars,  where  women  and  children  had 
sought  refuge.     Then  they  shot  those  that  fled. 

The  brutal  slander  of  German  soldiers  was  made  on  the 
authority  of  the  Special  War  Correspondent  of  the  London 
Daily  Telegraph. 

On  September  3rd,  American  papers  reprinted  the  following 
dispatch  from  Harold  Ashton,  special  correspondent  of  the 
London  Daily  News. 

MANY      LOST      WHEN      WHITE      FLAG     IS 
IGNORED  TO  BURN  FOREST 

St.  Quentin  is  raging  with  battle.  Heavy  firing 
began  there  on  Saturday,  continued  yesterday,  and 
was  recommenced  at  dawn  this  (Monday)  morning, 
in  a  dense  wood  between  St.  Quentin  and  La  Fere. 
A  number  of  people  had  taken  refuge — peaceful 
peasantry  for  the  most  part — when  the  wood  was 
raided  by  German  cavalry.  Though  the  white  flag 
was  hoisted,  not  the  slightest  notice  was  taken.  The 
wood  was  in  the  way  of  the  advance  and  the  way 
must  be  cleared.  The  undergrowth  was  dry  as 
tinder.  The  way  to  clear  the  screen  was  obvious 
enough.     The  order  was  given  to  fire  it. 

This  was  done,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  wood 
was  one  huge,  raging  fury  of  flames,  roaring  madly. 

I  asked  a  priest  on  Red  Cross  Work  who  had 
struggled  through  from  this  desperate  neighborhood 
what  happened  to  the  people  there. 

"The  good  God  alone  knows,"  said  he.  "Ah I  the 
horror  of  it!"  and  tears  rolled  in  torrents  down  his 
honest  face. 


—     78     — 

To  make  the  Germans  appear  as  real  Huns,  stories  like  the 
following  were  sent  broadcast  over  Europe  and  to  all  other 
continents : 

FRENCH  CHARGE  EIGHTY-THREE  CAPTIVES 
WITH  ROBBING  THE  DEAD. 

PARIS,  Aug.  2 1 . — Eighty-three  German  priso- 
ners, accused  of  robbing  the  dead  on  the  field  of 
battle,  arrived  to-day  at  Clermont  Ferrand,  capital 
of  the  Department  of  Puy-de-Dome, where  the  police 
had  great  difficulty  in  restraining  the  population 
from  attacking  them. 

When  arrested  near  Miihlhausen,  many  jewels, 
several  wedding  rings  and  large  amounts  of  money 
were  found  on  the  Germans.  It  is  alleged  that  these 
valuables  were  stolen  from  the  bodies  of  officers 
and  soldiers.  It  is  charged  also  that  the  men  wore 
Red  Cross  insignia  while  they  did  this. 

The  German  prisoners  will  appear  before  a  court- 
martial  to  be  held  by  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps. 
They  were  transported  to  Clermont  Ferrand,  hand- 
cuffed in  fours,  on  several  trucks,  bearing  the  im- 
perial eagle. 

Were  we  to  believe  the  English  papers,  German  soldiers, 
while  marching  through  Belgium,  made  a  specialty  of  cutting 
off  the  hands  of  boys,  girls  and  Red  Cross  nurses. 

On  September  25  th,  many  American  papers  printed  the 
report  that  Captain  W.  J.  Roberts  of  the  American  liner  "New 
York,"  just  arrived  from  England,  had  made  a  statement  to 
the  effect  that  his  daughter,  at  his  home  in  Liverpool,  sheltered 
a  pretty  Belgian  girl,  six  years  of  age,  who  had  been  mutilated 
by  German  soldiers.  **I  cannot  understand,"  the  Captain  is 
quoted  to  have  said,  "how  any  man  could  commit  such  a  bar- 
barous act  upon  an  innocent  child." 

About  this  "German  atrocity"  the  New  York  Times  receiv- 
ed, on  Sptember  26,  the  following  special  cable  from  her 
correspondent:  "Mrs.  Roberts,  wife  of  Captain  W.  J.  Roberts, 
totally  denies  the  story  that  a  little  Belgian  girl  whose  hands 
had  been  cut  off  by  German  soldiers,  is  being  cared  for  at  her 
home." 

This  repudiation,  however,  did  not  hinder  the  New  York 
Times,  to  give  on  October  7,  space  to  the  following  dispatch, 
which  apparently  originated  from  the  same  sources. 


—     79     — 

BOSTON.  Oct.  6. — Dr.  H.  P.  Hodgkinson,  surgeon  of  the 
Cimarder  Laconia,  which  arrived  here  to-day,  declared  that 
he  saw  two  small  Belgian,  children  in  Liverpool  whose  hands 
had  been  cut  off  above  the  wrists  by  German  soldiers.  The 
children,  he  said,  were  at  the  home  of  his  sister  in  Liverpool, 
where  they  and  their  mother  were  being  looked  after. 

The  children  were  brought  to  Liverpool  last  week,  he  said. 
Their  mother  said  that  German  soldiers,  on  their  way  to  Ant- 
werp, stopped  the  children  as  they  were  peissing  through  a 
field.  An  officer,  drawing  his  sword  with  the  remark  that  he 
"would  fix  them  so  that  in  the  future  they  would  not  be  able 
to  shoot  German  soldiers, "cutt  off  their  hands  above  the  wrists. 

Their  mother  found  them  in  time  to  have  them  taken  before 
a  surgeon  who  helped  them  reach  England.  There  they  were 
taken  with  their  mother  to  the  home  of  Dr.  Hodgkinson's 
sister. 

The  most  shocking  * 'German  Atrocity''  invented  by  an  English 

Teacher. 

Another  story  of  alleged  atrocities  by  German  soldiers  was 
heralded  from  London  on  September  1 6th.  The  dispatch 
gave  an  account  of  the  horrible  death  of  Miss  Grace  Hume, 
of  Dumfries,  a  young  English  woman  in  the  service  of  the  Red 
Cross.  It  was  told,  that  while  this  young  girl  was  on  duty 
in  a  field  hospital  at  Vilvorde,  near  Brussels,  the  hospital  was 
attacked  by  German  soldiers,  who  burned  the  hospital  to  the 
ground.  Out  of  1517  wounded  men  and  23  nurses  only  149 
men  and  1  9  nurses  escaped,  all  others  were  killed  or  burned. 
Besides  other  brutalities,  committed  by  the  soldiers,  it  was 
asserted  that  they  abused  Miss  Hume,  finally  slashing  off  her 
breasts.  Before  her  death,  the  unfortunate  girl  still  had  the 
strength  to  write  a  brief  farewell  message  to  her  sister  in  Dum- 
fries. 

This  letter  was  published  in  facsimile  in  the  Dumfries 
Standard.  The  story  therefore  appeared  to  be  particularly 
well  authenticated  and  was  reprinted  by  a  great  number  of 
British  papers,  and  sent  broadcast  over  the  world,  to  show  what 
the  German  Huns  were  able  to  do.  But  when  some  British 
newspapers  investigated  in  order  to  work  up  a  sensation,  it  was 
brought  out,  that  Miss  Grace  Hume  had  never  left  England, 
but  was  safe  and  sound  in  Huddersfield.  It  turned  out,  that 
the  letter,  said  to  have  been  written  by  her  before  her  death, 
together  with  some  other  letters  pretended  to  have  been  written 
by  Belgian  priests  and  nuns,  to  corroborate  the  former,  were 
forgeries,  penned  by  her  sister  Kate,  a  schoolteacher,  who  by 


—    80     — 

reading  the  countless  atrocity  stories,  had  been  incited  to 
hysterical  hatred. 

This  unfortunate  victim  of  a  corrupt  press  was  brought  to 
court  and  sentenced  for  forgery  to  imprisonment  for  three 
months.  The  judgment,  however,  was  not  put  into  effect,  but 
the  defendant  released  on  promise  of  good  behavior.  Yet  the 
papers,  that  had  bestowed  so  much  pains  to  spread  the  story 
the  world  over,  did  nothing,  to  retract  the  awful  charge, 
heaped  upon  the  German  soldiers. 

Other  atrocity  yearns  were  run  down  by  Mr.  Geo.  F.  Porter 
of  Chicago,  a  member  of  the  American  Red  Cross.  While  in 
London,  he  heard  many  stories  of  alleged  cruelties  committed 
by  German  soldiers.  After  investigating  these  stories,  he 
reported  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Red  Cross  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  His  letter  arrived  there  on  September  26,  and  read  as 
follows: 

"Atrocities  are  enormously  exaggerated.  Tuesday  night 
I  was  told  by  an  American  woman  of  forty  Belgian  Red  Cross 
nurses  in  a  London  private  hospital  each  with  the  thumb  and 
first  two  fingers  of  each  hand  cut  off.  Of  course,  I  wanted  to 
get  at  the  bottom  of  this  for  you.  With  considerable  difficulty 
I  obtained  the  name  of  the  supposed  private  hospital  in  Ham- 
mersmith, went  there,  and  found  it  a  private  house  belonging 
to  a  woman,  who  was  much  interested  in  relief  work,  and  had 
given  her  house  for  nursing,  preparing  garments,  &c.  She 
would  not  see  me,  but  I  finally  got  an  admission  from  a  re- 
sponsible person  whom  I  knew  that  the  whole  story  was  hear- 
say and  with  no  foundation. 

"They  did  tell  me,  however,  of  a  Belgian  nurse  at  St. 
Thomas's  Hospital  here  with  the  tendons  of  her  wrist  cut.  I 
went  there  immediately,  saw  the  Secretary  of  the  hospital,  and 
found  there  was  a  nurse  there,  but  that  instead  of  the  tendons 
of  her  wrists  being  cut  she  had  burned  her  wrists  badly  by  the 
explosion  of  a  spirit  lamp  on  which  she  was  making  tea.  Here 
was  a  typical  example  of  the  way  stories  are  fabricated  out  of 
nothing.  Responsible  English  people  are  disturbed  over  the 
effect  these  reported  atrocities  may  have  in  America." 

Of  course,  there  was  also  no  historical  building  nor  magni- 
ficent cathedral,  nor  precious  works  of  art  sacred  to  the  "Ger- 
men  barbarians,"  whose  victories  were  not  the  result  of  high 
strategy,  but  of  overwhelming  numerical  strength.  That  the 
Germans  were  accused  of  stealing  followed  as  a  matter  of 
course.  As  is  well  known,  even  the  Crown  Prince  Frederick 
Wilhelm,  the  son  of  the  Emperor,  has  been  branded  a  thief. 


—    61    — 

who  pocketed  jewels,  vases,  gold-cups  and  other  valuables 
in  French  Chateaux. 

Of  course,  the  Generals  of  the  German  army  also  did  not 
escape  slander.  They  have  been  pictured  to  the  English 
readers  as  drunken  incompetent  monsters,  several  of  whom— 
like  General  Emmich,  the  conqueror  of  Liege,  and  General 
von  Kluck,  commander  of  the  eastern  wing  of  the  German 
army  in  France — have  been  reported  again  and  again  as  com- 
mitting suicide,  when  their  incapability  was  found  out  by  the 
Emperor. 

To  the  great  distress  of  the  British,  all  these  generals  are 
still  in  command.  And  to  increase  the  discomfort  of  the 
British  fiction  writers,  there  appeared  several  articles  by  Ame- 
rican correspondents,  in  which  these  men  solemnly  declared 
that,  having  spent  several  weeks  with  the  German  army  in 
Belgium  and  passing  through  many  towns  and  villages,  they 
were  unable  to  detect  a  single  instance  of  atrocity. 

Five  Knights  of  Truth. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  testimonials  in  favor  of  the 
German  army  was  a  "round  robin  letter,"  written  by  Roger 
Lewis,  war  correspondent  of  the  Associated  Press;  Erwin  S. 
Cobb  of  the  Saturday  Evening  Post  and  Philadelphia  Ledger; 
Harry  Hansen  of  the  Chicago  Daily  News;  James  O'Donnell 
Bennett  and  John  T.  McCutcheon  of  the  Chicago  Tribune. 
This  letter,  that  appeared  in  the  above  named  American 
papers  September  1  7th,  is  too  important  not  to  be  quoted 
partly: 

"AIX-LA-CHAPELLE,  Germany,  Sept.  2. — The  solemn 
truth.  I  never  sat  down  to  write  with  greater  conviction  than  I 
purpose  writing  now.  I  never  sat  down  to  write  with  a  more 
sincere  belief  that  I  could  say  something  that  ought  to  be 
known.  To-day  I  had  my  share  in  the  composition  of  a  round 
robin  on  the  so-called  "German  atrocities." 

That  round  robin  has  been,  the  signers  of  it  hope,  started 
on  its  way  to  you  by  Marconi  wireless,  via  the  African  coast 
and  so  over  the  seas  of  the  Far  East  into  America.  There  is 
no  other  way  by  which  we  can  be  sure  our  communication  will 
reach  you. 

Germany's  direct  cable  communication  with  the  United 
States  is  cut.  We  also  cabled  our  round  robin  to  you  out  of 
Holland,  via  London,  but  whether  the  English  censors  will  let 
that  communication  pass  we  gravely  doubt.  If  such  a  thing  as 
the  vaunted  "English  sense  of  fair  play"  still  survives  in  panic 


—     82     — 

stricken   London,    the   censor  will   allow   our   despatch   to    go 
through. 

The  Marconi  via  Africa  is  likewise  uncertain,  but  for  differ- 
ent reasons.  In  trusting  ourselves  to  the  Marconi  we  are  con- 
tending with  the  baffling  ebb  and  flow  of  mysterious  currents 
in  the  ether;  in  trusting  ourselves  to  the  English  military  censor- 
ship we  are  at  the  mercy  of  radical  hatreds  that  seem  at  times 
to  mount  to  dementia. 

But  the  mails  out  of  Holland  to  America  we  believe  we  can 
trust  and  we  have  some  solemri  truth  to   tell  in   detail  now. 

The  round  robin  was  a  bare  statement  in  which  we  expressed 
our  earnest  belief — a  belief  based  on  days  of  personal  obser- 
vations in  the  theatre  of  war — that  the  reports  of  barbarities 
alleged  to  have  been  perpetrated  by  German  troops  on  an 
inoffensive  Belgian  countryside  are  shocking  falsehoods. 

We  believe  this  as  firmly  as  we  believe  that  we  are  now  safe 
in  the  ancient  city  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  after  more  than  a  week 
of  wandering  over  that  very  countryside  sometimes  in  the  rear 
of  and  sometimes  alongside  German  columns. 

We  have  travelled  on  foot,  on  bicycles,  by  horse  and  cart 
and  by  train  more  than  1  00  miles.  We  have  passed  through 
twenty  towns  and  villages.  We  have  moved  from  Brussels  on 
the  north,  to  Beaumont  on  the  south,  and  to  Aix-la-Chapelle 
on  the  east. 

We  have  been  within  1  00  feet  of  the  Belgian-French  border 
on  the  south  and  we  have  crossed  the  Belgian-German  border 
on  the  east.  We  have  shared  the  food  and  wine  and  the  straw 
beds  of  German  soldiery.  We  have  sung  songs  with  them  in  the 
post  of  the  rear  guard  at  night  and  we  have  talked  with  scores 
of  Belgian  peasants,  men  and  women,  across  whose  fields  and 
through  whose  villages  the  German  host  has  passed.  Of  Ger- 
man soldiers  we  must  have  seen  at  least  500,000  with  our  own 
eyes. 

And  amid  all  we  have  heard  and  all  that  we  have  seen  in 
ten  tumultuous  wearying  days,  we  have  neither  heard  of  a 
single  "atrocity"  that  our  investigations  verified,  nor  seen  a 
single  atrocity  perpetrated. 

The  rigors  and  the  shocking  waste  of  war  we  have  seen. 
We  have  seen  burning  villages  and  women  weeping  over  their 
desolated  homes.  We  have  seen  miles  of  highway  strewn 
with  the  caps,  coats,  bloody  shoes,  bloody  bandages,  smashed 
rifles,  empty  knapsacks,  band  instruments,  field  glasses  and 
wine  bottles  of  the  retreating  French. 

We  have  seen  new  made  English  graves  in  the  lonely  fields 
over  which  the  evening  mist  hung  like  a  pale  shroud. 


—     83     — 

We  have  beheld  the  wreck  and  the  grime  and  the  squalor 
of  war  8  passing,  but  we  have  been  spared  the  sight  of  outraged 
women  and  tortured  children. 

Why  is  this? 

We  firmly  believe  that  it  is  because  no  such  atrocities  have 
been  committed  by  the  German  soldiery  . 

And  yet,  safe  in  Aix-la-Chapelle,  safe  though  still  under  the 
surveillance  of  German  military  authorities — ^who,  like  all 
Europe,  are  "spy  mad" — safe  and  well  and  bathed  and  shaven 
at  last,  we  open  bundles  of  London  newspapers  in  the  quiet 
offices  of  the  American  Consul  Thompson,  and  we  read  column 
after  column  of  the  most  harrowing  and  dreadful  accounts  of 
most  infamous  barbarities  inflicted  upon  the  Belgian  peasantry 
by  German  troops. 

We  are  aghast  as  we  read.  We  turn  to  the  Consul  and  say: 
"What  does  this  mean?  How  is  it  that  we  have  seen  nothing  of 
this?  He  looks  gravely  back  at  us  and  says:  "I  have  been 
reading  those  things  for  days  before  you  came.** 

The  American  Consul  has  lived  seven  years  in  Germany 
and  he  has  carried  on  special  studies  concerning  the  volume, 
the  nature  and  the  effect  of  German  immigration  into  America 
from  the  beginning  of  that  immigration  in  Colonial  times  to  the 
present  day.  The  defining  of  the  contributions  of  German 
blood  and  German  culture  to  the  life  of  the  republic  is  a  field 
of  investigation  in  which  he  has  made  himself  an  authority. 
Few  Americans  know  the  German  people  half  as  well  as  he 
does.      He  likes  them  and  trusts  them. 

His  observation,  of  the  present  war  has  not  extended  into 
the  field,  but  he  is  no  less  baffled  by  the  frantic  reports  from 
London  than  we  are,  whose  scouting  has  taken  us  to  scenes 
of  actual  operations. 

He  is,  and  from  the  nature  of  his  position  must  be,  officially 
non-committal.  To  us  he  only  nods  his  head  and  says:  **I 
can't  understand  it.** 

The  most  terrible  outrage  any  of  us  has  seen  was  seen  by 
Cobb.  With  his  own  appreciative  eyes  he  saw  a  laughing 
German  soldier  who  was  crossing  a  street  in  Louvain  lean  for- 
ward and  imprint  a  kiss  on  the  cheek  of  a  Belgian  girl  who  was 
bantering  him.  The  girl  promptly  slapped  his  face.  The  soldier 
laughed  the  louder.  The  girl  began  to  laugh  too.  The  incident 
was  closed.  Cobb  said  it  was  as  quaint  and  merry  a  scene  in 
homely  life  as  ever  he  saw.     That  was  week  before  last. 

Always  on  our  march  the  facts  relative  to  the  German 
"atrocities**  evaded  us.  Always  it  was  in  "the  next  village*' 
that  a  woman  had  been  outraged,   a  child  butchered,   or  an 


—     84     — 

innocent  old  man  tortured.     Arriving  at  that  "next  village,** 
we  could  get  no  confirmation  from  the  inhabitants. 

"No,"  they  would  say  "it  did  not  happen  here;  but  we  heard 
that  it  was  in  the  next  village,  messieurs." 

But  the  next  village  would  develop  naught  authentically — 
only  wild  stories,  rumors,  hearsay.  At  Solre-sur-Sambre,  all 
around  which  there  had  been  fighting  on  Sunday  and  Monday, 
the  23rd  and  the  24th  of  August,  the  burgomaster  said  to  us 
in  the  late  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  26th:  "As  reports 
come  in  from  surrounding  towns  I  am  unable  to  verify  these 
rumors  of  cruelties  perpetrated  against  unarmed  civilians  and 
I  give  no  credence  to  them." 

1  think  there  is  not  a  man  in  our  party  who  did  not  come  to 
the  Continent  from  London  in  a  pro-English  state  of  mind,  if 
not  in  an  anti-German  state  of  mind.  For  days  before  our 
departure  we,  too,  had  been  fed  on  London  newspapers. 

We  have  read  the  famous  "mad  dog"  editorials  day  by  day 
and  the  tales  of  atrocities  alleged  to  have  been  committed 
around  Liege.  We  believed  that  so  far  as  Germany  was  con- 
cerned this  was  emphatically  the  Empereor's  war  and  not  the 
empire's  war.  An  American  magazine  writer  named  Arno 
Dosch,  who  is  of  German  extraction,   also  shared  our  views. 

Slowly,  not  impetuously  nor  sentimentally,  we  found  these 
views  moderating.  For  four  days  we  observed  the  temperance, 
good  nature,  tact  and  strict  discipline  of  the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  German  soldiers  who  were  passing  through  Brussels. 
Many  detachments  of  them  were  halted  there  for  hours.  Hun- 
dreds of  soldiers  moved  freely  about  the  streets.  In  four  days 
we  did  not  hear  a  cross  word  exchanged  between  inhabitants 
and  soldiers  nor  did  we  see  one  boisterous  or  insulting  act. 

The  fact  is  that  within  four  hours  after  the  first  detachment 
of  German  troops  had  come  swinging  down  the  steep  boule- 
vard Du  Jardin  Botanique  the  Brussellians  were  not  precisely 
fraternizing  with  the  Germans  but  quietly  and  comfortably 
chatting  with  them  in  the  streets. 

On  many  doorways  as  we  passed  along  we  saw  chalked  in 
German  script  the  words  "Good  people,"  or  "Very  good 
people" — words  written  there  by  advance  guards  who  had 
gone  ahead  of  the  main  body  to  select  quarters  for  officers, 
men  and  horses. 

"Good  people"  meant  that  the  advance  guard  had  been 
received  with  civility.  "Very  good  people"  meant  that  they 
had  met  with  helpfulness  in  making  their  arrangements.  On 
one  house  which  stared  blankly  out  of  a  village  street  from 
broken   windows   there   was   written   in    German   script   these 


—     85     — 

words:  "This  house  has  been  unjustly  attacked;  go  easy  now." 

I  am  not  defending  the  Germans.  I  owe  them  nothing, 
except  what  any  man  owes  another  who  treats  him  with  de- 
cency.    I  expect  nothing  from  the  Germans. 

The  truth  is  that  all  of  us  correspondents  have  a  right  to 
feel  a  little  resentful  toward  the  German  authorities,  both 
military  and  civil.  They  have  balked  our  work  at  every  turn. 
They  have  delayed  and  inconvenienced  us  and  they  have  had 
us  under  guard  during  three  days  and  under  surveillance  during 
four  days.  Always  they  have  been  polite  about  it,  but  that  has 
not  mitigated  the  distracting  delays  we  have  had  to  endure  in 
forwarding  our  news  to  our  papers. 

Truth,  however,  remains  truth,  and  in  the  matter  of  these 
alleged  atrocities  we  feel  there  have  been  shocking  falsehoods. 
I  give  my  most  solemn  word  as  to  the  truth  of  what  I  have 
written. 

We  have  seen  no  atrocities. 

We  can  get  proof  of  none. 

We  do  know,  on  the  contrary,  that  German  officers  have 
fraternized  with  English  officers  they  have  taken  prisoners  and 
have  parted  with  these  words,  "A  dinner  at  the  Carlton,  old' 
fellow,  when  we  meet  at  London  in  happier  times." 

Once  more  I  say  there  has  been  the  inevitable  and  shocking 
waste  and  misery  of  war  in  this  Belgian  campaign,  but  to  find 
the  fiendishness  of  it,  as  that  fiendishness  is  charged  against 
the  German  troops,  a  man  will  have  to  travel  further  and  ob- 
serve more  sharply  than  five  intelligent,  zealous  American 
correspondents  have  travelled  and  observed." — 

The  effect  of  this  and  similar  testimonials  in  favor  of  the 
German  army  was,  that  the  atrocity  stories,  which  had  worked 
for  a  long  time,  disappeared  from  American  papers,  especially, 
when  it  came  know^n,  that  an  American  Press  Association  had 
cabled  its  representative  in  London: 
''Stop  sending  atrocity  stories.     Nobody  here  believes  them." 

And,  on  January  2  7th  the  State  Department  at  Washington, 
D.  C.,  received  from  the  American  ambassador  in  London  a 
lengthy  report,  from  which  it  appears,  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment by  inquiring  of  many  thousands  of  Belgian  fugitives  had 
made  great  efforts,  to  verify  stories  of  German  atrocities,  but 
had  failed  completely,  as  none  of  these  Belgians  had  seen  such 
committed  or  could  furnish  proof  of  any. 


German  Militarism  or  British  Navalism, 
which  is  the  World's  Menace  ? 

Numerous  British  and  many  American  papers  under  pro- 
British  management  pretend  to  distinguish  two  entirely  dif- 
ferent Germanys:  "a  Germany  with  the  mailed  fist,"  which 
they  despise,  and  "a  Germany  of  high  culture,"  which  they 
admire. 

The  "New  York  Evening  Post**  characterized  these  two 
Germany's  in  the  following  eloquent  editorial: 

"Never  have  we  upheld  the  Germany  of  the  mailed  fist,  or 
the  autocracy  of  militarism;  against  its  claims,  its  excesses,  its 
encroachments  upon  civil  rights,  its  assertion  that  it  constitutes 
a  sacrosanct  cast  superior  to  any  other,  we  have  protested  in 
season  and  out  of  season.  We  have  long  seen  in  this  swash- 
buckling, overbearing  attitude  of  the  railitarists,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  activities  of  such  body  as  the  German  Navy  League 
— we  are  cursed  with  one  of  our  own — a  grave  menace  to  the 
peace  of  Europe;  and  it  has  now  brought  the  very  worst  to 
pass  that  the  human  imagination  can  conceive. 

It  is  another  Germany  which  we  have  been  proud  to  recog- 
nize and  acclaim — this  Germany  of  high  aspirations  and  noble 
ideals,  the  Germany  of  intellectual  freedom,  the  Germany  to 
whose  spiritual  leadership  every  nation  the  world  over  is  deep- 
ly in  debt.  Its  flag  has  meant  to  us  the  flag  of  scientific 
knowledge  planted  farthest  north  in  more  fields  of  mental  and 
governmental  activity  than  is  perhaps  any  other.  It  is  the 
country  of  Fichte,  Kant  and  Hegel,  of  Schiller  and  Goethe,  of 
Koerner  and  his  fellow  champions  of  German  liberty  in  the 
wars  for  freedom  just  a  century  ago ;  of  Carl  Schurz  and  Siegel 
and  Kinkel  and  their  revolutionary  comrades  of  1  848,  of  Schu- 
bert, Schumann  and  Wagner,  of  Lessing,  of  Mommsen,  of 
Helmholtz  and  Siemens.  Against  this  Germany,  the  war  into 
which  it  has  been  so  reckless  plunged,  is  nothing  short  of  a 
crime.  Whether  victory  or  national  disaster  come  out  of  it 
all,  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  growth  of  the  nation  is 
checked  for  no  one  knows  how  long. 

For  ourselves  we  can  only  say  that  to  us  the  one  conso- 
lation in  it  all  is  that,  if  humanity  is  not  to  retrogade  unspeak- 


—     87     — 

ably,  absolutism  must  pay  for  this  denial  of  Christianity.  In 
place  of  the  kingdoms  there  must  arise  the  republics  of  Europe; 
out  of  the  ashes  must  come  a  new  Germany,  in  which  pure 
democracy  shall  rule,  in  which  no  one  man  and  no  group  of 
professional  man-killers  shall  have  the  power  to  turn  the  whole 
world   into   mourning." 

All  this  sounds  very  beautiful.  It  indicates  that  the  whole 
British  and  pro-British  world  would  be  immensily  pleased,  if 
the  Germans  might  be  only  good  enough  to  stick  to  their  true 
mission  and  confine  themselves  on  writing  books  on  poetry, 
philosophy  and  kindred  subjects.  For  a  recreation  they  might 
perhaps  start  sometimes  a  little  revolution  like  that  of  1  848, 
in  order  that  the  German  princes  might  be  kept  on  the  moving 
and  the  people  enjoy  some  change. 

But  unfortunately  a  nation  of  more  than  65,000,000  indi- 
viduals, crowded  on  a  territory  much  smaller  than  Texas,  and 
increasing  at  the  rate  of  a  million  every  year,  can  hardly  live 
nowadays  by  writing  poems  and  squandering  its  time  with 
pounding  out  philosophical  theories.  Especially  not,  when 
nature  provided  the  children  of  the  Fatherland  with  just  as 
efficient  stomachs  as  the  youngsters  of  England  and  America 
have.  Like  all  other  human  beings,  the  Germans  claim  also 
the  right  to  strive  for  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuits  of  happi- 
ness, in  other  words  "for  some  place  in  the  sunshine.'* 

To  keep  themselves  from  starvation,  the  Germans  must, 
like  other  nations,  be  industrious,  inventive  and  engage  in 
trade  and  commerce.  And,  as  the  struggle  for  existence  will 
never  end,  they  are  also  compelled  to  protect  themselves  and 
their  commerce  from  enemies.  That  they  do  this  in  such  an 
efficient  way,  is,  however,  in  the  eyes  of  their  hypocritical 
opponents^  an  unpardonable  sin.  In  order  to  brand  it  as  such 
and  to  deceive  the  world  about  the  real  causes  for  the  present 
war,  Sir  Edward  Grey  made  "militarism"  the  great  watchword 
and  battlecry  of  the  Allies. 

He  sounded  it  first  in  an  open  letter  to  his  constituents  in 
Berwick,  in  which  he  said: 

"It  is  the  German  Militarism,  which  we  must  crush!  All 
Western  Europe  would  fall  under  this  curse,  if  in  this  present 
war  Germany  would  be  successful.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  independence  and  integrity  of  all  smaller  European  States 
are  secured  by  our  arms,  and  the  German  people  itself  freed 
from  that  militarism — for  it  is  not  the  German  people,  but 
Prussian  militarism,  which  has  driven  Germany  and  Europe 
into  war — if  that  militarism  can  be  overcome,    then   indeed 


—     88     — 

there  will  be  a  brighter,  freer  day  for  Europe  which  will  com- 
pensate us  for  the  awful  sacrifices  which  war  entails." 

This  watchword  was  indorsed  by  the  whole  British  nation. 
King  George  repeated  it  on  September  18th  in  Parliament;  it 
was  forwarded  by  the  Lord  High  Chancellor  Viscount  Hal- 
dane,  who  said  that  the  German,  nation  had  been  prostituted 
to  military  uses,  and  that  this  war  must  end  that  spirit  of  mili- 
tarism. 

While  these  gentlemen,  in  accordance  with  the  dignity  of 
their  office  kept,  in  condeming  German  militarism,  with  some 
reserve,  the  editors  of  the  London  papers  began  to  foam  and 
spout  like  that  furious  geyser  in  our  National  Yellowstone 
Park,  known  as  "Devils  Half  Acre."  Hear,  what  the  Pall 
Mall  Gazette  said  in  her  edition  of  September  19th: 

"We  are  fighting  to  destroy  the  power  of  the  War  Lord  for- 
ever and  to  insure  that  no  other  War  Lord  shall  arise  in  his 
place  and  inherit  his  megalomaniac  visions.  The  military 
power  of  Germany  must  be  not  only  defeated,  but  pulverized. 
There  must  be  nothing  left  of  it  to  form  even  a  nucleus  of  an- 
other  pirate   empire." 

The  same  day  the  "Globe"  spoke  thus:  "If  we  are  to  get  rid 
of  the  peculiar  German  system  which  has  hung  like  a  nightmare 
over  Europe,  we  must  finish  the  empire  on  which  that  system 
is  based.  To  hint  that  we  would  be  content  with  anything  less 
is  to  betray  the  cause  for  which  we  now  are  making  such  a 
supreme  sacrifice.  In  order  to  save  not  only  this  country,  but 
all  Europe,  it  is  necessary  that  Germany  should  be  both 
crushed  and  humiliated." 

All  other  London  papers  were  pitched  in  the  same  key. 
And  when  the  wires  and  cables  flashed  these  vicious  words 
all  over  the  world,  they  incited  whole  armies  of  editorial 
writers,  professors  and  ministers  of  the  gospel  to  like  flaming 
condemnations  of  the  German  Militarism,  "that  terrible  im- 
moral institution,"  which  they  know  only  from  hearsay,  and 
of  whose  nature  and  significance  they  had  not  the  slightest 
idea. 

Now,  to  demonstrate  the  perfidiousness  of  Sir  Edward 
Grey,  let  us  see,  what  German  "militarism"  really  is. 

That  army  and  navy  in  Germany  are  regarded  purely  as 
defensive  institutions  has  been  explained  by  the  German 
authorities  often  enough.  On  March  29,  1 909,  Chancellor 
von  Buelow  declared  emphatically,  in  the  Reichstag,  that  Ger- 
many had  no  aggressive  tendencies  nor  the  intention  to  com- 
pete as  a  naval  power  with  Great  Britain.  But  as,  up  to  that 
time,  there  had  been  presented  no  basis,  practicable  and  just 


—    89    — 

to  all  nations,  for  negotiations  on  the  limitation  of  armament, 
the  Empire  knew  no  better  way  than  to  follow  the  advice  of 
George  Washington,  who  said  in  his  political  testament:  **If 
you  will  secure  peace,  prepare  for  war." 

Emperor  William  himself  made  on  September  11,1  909,  at  a 
gala  dinner  in  Karlsruhe,  a  significant  speech,  in  which  he  said : 
*'So  long  as  there  are  human  beings,  so  long  will  exist  enemies 
and  hostile  tendencies,  against  which  we  must  protect  our- 
selves. There  will  be  always  wars  and  threatening  situations. 
We  must  be  prepared  for  everything.  My  army  stands  ready 
to  defend  the  honor  of  our  country  and  to  secure  its  peace.  It 
bears  its  armor  for  nobody's  joy  and  for  nobody's  harm." 

What  constitutes  "Militarism"  is  explained  in  an  article, 
published  in  the  "U.  S.  Army  and  Navy  Journal"  of  October 
1  3th  1914.  As  it  is  written  by  an  expert,  I  give  this  valuable 
article,  for  the  better  enlightment  of  Sir  Edward  Grey,  Profes- 
sor Eliot,  President  emeritus  of  Harvard  University,  and  all 
their  confreres  in  full. 

"The  persistence  with  which  there  is  flung  across  the  oceans 
the  assertion  that  the  Allies  will  not  agree  to  peace  till  "Ger- 
man militarism  is  wiped  out"  has  so  systematic  an  aspect  that 
it  would  seem  that  some  people  are  determined  to  make  mi- 
litarism the  scapegoat  of  this  war.  Hence  it  is  the  part  of 
present  and  future  wisdom  to  analyze  the  term  "German  mili- 
tarism" to  ascertain  exactly  what  is  meant  by  it,  for  our  efforts 
for  the  last  forty  years  to  awaken  the  American  people  to  the 
need  of  an  adequate  army  and  navy  has  been  met  with  the 
parrot-like  cry  of  "militarism."  By  "German  militarism"  there 
must  be  meant  something  entirely  different  from  every  other 
kind  of  militarism,  for  the  accredited  intention  of  the  Allies 
has  nothing  to  do  with  French  or  British  or  Russian  militarism, 
and  if  they  found  their  own  door  yard  encumbered  they  cer- 
tainly would  not  go  abroad  with  brooms. 

What  Militarism  Means. 

By  German  militarism,  then,  we  take  it,  is  meant  a  plant  of 
a  peculiar  baleful  influence  upon  civilization,  a  plant  that 
grows  only  on  German  soil,  and  unless  exterminated  threatens 
to  blight  the  whole  world.  It  is  gratifying  in  a  measure  to 
have  the  term  militarism  against  which  the  present  wrath  is 
directed  qualified  with  the  word  German,  for  too  long  before 
has  it  been  applied  to  any  attempt  to  give  a  country  proper 
military  defenses.  It  has  been  applied  to  the  preparations 
which  little    Switzerland  has  taken  for  the  development  of  an 


—     90     — 

army,  and  even  the  modern  statesmen  of  China  who  have 
sought  to  arouse  that  country  from  her  torpor  by  giving  to 
her  people  that  stimulus  and  sense  of  solidarity  that  come 
from  the  possession  of  a  military  establishment  have  had  the 
word  militarism  thrown  at  them.  But  the  present  war  has 
resulted  in  a  differentiation.  There  is  militarism  and  militar- 
ism. The  special  brand  which  needs  the  immediate  appli- 
cation of  an  extinguisher  is  the  German  brand.  The  inference 
is  not  unwarranted,  therefore,  that  those  who  hope  to  purify 
the  world  by  getting  rid  of  German  militarism  see  in  it  ele- 
ments which  the  military  establishments  of  other  big  continen- 
tal nations  do  not  possess.  We  have  kept  a  fairly  close  watch 
of  the  development  of  the  military  systems  of  Europe  in  the  last 
fifty  years,  and  we  confess  to  an  utter  inability  to  find  any- 
thing in  "German  militarism"  which  differs  radically  from  the 
military  establishments  of  other  countries.  The  two  funda- 
mentals of  present-day  "German  militarism"  are  universal 
military  service  for  all  citizens  of  the  German  Empire  and  com- 
plete readiness.  But  compulsory  military  service  is  not  con- 
fined to  Germany.  It  obtains  in  France,  Austria,  Italy  and 
Russia.  In  fact,  of  the  large  European  Powers  Great  Britain 
alone  has  no  compulsory  service  law. 

France  More  "Military"  Than  Germany. 

It  is  not,  then,  in  compulsory  service  that  "German  mili- 
tarism" differs  from  the  other  "militarisms"  of  Europe.  It  may 
be  said  that  Germany's  military  establishment  exacts  more  of 
the  country  in  the  way  of  annual  drafts  from  the  ranks  of  its 
young  men  than  any  other  of  the  nations  of  the  Continent, 
but  study  of  the  military  strength  of  Germany  and  France  dis- 
closes the  fact  that  with  a  population  nearly  twenty-five  mil- 
lions less  the  actual  war  strength  of  the  two  countries  is  prac- 
tically the  same.  We  base  this  statement  as  to  practical  equal- 
ity of  numbers  on  the  admissions  made  in  the  work  published 
a  few  months  ago  from  the  pen  of  Lieut.  Col.  W.  von  Bremen, 
of  the  German  army,  which  was  recently  extensively  reviewed 
in  our  columns.  The  title  of  this  work  is  "The  German  Army 
After  its  Reorganization."  On  page  6  of  this  volume  the 
German  officer-author  says:  "After  the  autumn  of  1914  we 
shall  be  able  to  dispose,  in  time  of  peace,  of  735,000  men  with- 
out counting  officers.  France  after  the  autumn  of  1913  has 
been  able  to  dispose  of  749,000  men.  As  to  the  war  effec- 
tives one  can  make  only  estimates,  but  in  doing  so  one  arrives 
at  the  conclusion  that  France,  after  making  the  proper  deduc- 


—     91      — 

tions  for  fortress  garrisons,  will  be  able  to  put  into  the  field  an 
army  of  2,750,000  men.  It  is  possible  that  we  can  put  as  many 
into  the  field,  but  not  more  at  the  present  moment." 

If  with  a  far  smaller  population  France  is  able  to  put  into  the 
field  a  trained  army  as  great  as  that  of  Germany,  it  must  be 
plain  that  French  "militarism**  is  drawing  more  heavily  on 
the  men  of  that  country  than  the  German  system  is  drawing 
on  the  men  of  Germany.  Comparatively,  then,  if  the  main- 
tenance of  large  forces  is  a  drain  upon  a  country,  as  is  claimed, 
France  suffers  more  from  her  militarism  than  does  Germany. 
The  point  is  thus  firmly  established  that  "German  militarism** 
does  not  demand  extraordinary  sacrifices  from  the  people  of 
the  Empire,  that  the  sacrifices  are  greater  in  France.  Two 
things  have  now  been  cleared  up :  ( 1  )  That  Germany  is  not 
peculiar  in  having  compulsory  service;  (2)  that  her  military 
system  does  not  draw  upon  her  resources  as  heavily  in  propor- 
tion to  population  as  other  systems  draw  upon  her  neighbors. 

Germany  Should  Be  Praised,  Not  Blamed. 

There  is  left,  then,  only  the  last  supposition,  namely,  that 
"German  militarism*'  is  condemnable  because  of  its  extreme 
readiness.  As  Gen.  McCoskry  Butt  wrote  from  Europe  the 
other  day,  Germany  was  ready,  the  other  countries  were  not. 
But  this  is  a  feature  of  her  military  system  for  which  Germany 
should  be  praised,  not  blamed,  for  what  is  an  army  worth  if 
it  is  not  ready  when  the  call  comes?  The  more  nearly  ready 
it  is,  the  more  nearly  it  appproaches  those  standards  of  value 
and  efficiency  for  which  all  great  commanders  have  striven 
through  all  the  ages.  Instead,  therefore,  of  "German  militarism** 
being  something  that  should  be  "wiped  out,**  it  is  something 
that  should  be  imitated  closely  by  other  nations,  not  excepting 
our  own  United  States.  By  being  as  ready  as  it  proved  itself 
to  be  at  the  outbreak  of  the  present  hostilities  Germany  has 
got  more  out  of  its  army  for  the  expense  involved  in  main- 
taining it  than  perhaps  any  other  nation,  and  in  this  respect  is 
a  shining  example  to  her  neighbors. 

Further  proof  that  it  cannot  be  the  compulsory  military 
service  obtaining  in  Germany  that  merits  this  general  "wiping 
out'*  of  which  we  hear  so  much  just  now  is  furnished  by  the 
attitude  of  Field  Marshal  Lord  Roberts  and  other  distinguished 
British  Soldiers  toward  compulsory  service.  Lord  Roberts  was 
so  gravely  impressed  by  the  military  unpreparedness  of  Great 
Britain  that  a  few  years  ago  he  organized  a  league  the  purpose 
of  which  was  to  carry  on  a  propaganda  in  favor  of  compulsory 


—     91     — 

service.  The  agitation  he  began  has  resulted  in  dividing  the  mi- 
litary sentiment  of  the  British  Empire  into  large  camps,  one 
favoring  the  present  voluntary  system  and  the  other  advocat- 
ing the  idea  of  Lord  Roberts,  which  are  practically  the  ideas 
obtaining  in  Germany.  Here  right  in  England  itself  one  finds 
that  the  German  system  has  the  support  of  no  less  an  authority 
than  Lord  Roberts.  Perhaps  Lord  Roberts  is  not  now  to  be 
counted  among  those  who  want  to  see  ''German  militarism 
wiped  out."  Rather,  we  are  inclined  to  believe,  would  he  see 
it  transplanted  in  its  leading  phases  to  his  own  country  and 
there  replace  what  he  has  so  often  denounced  as  inadequate, 
the  present  voluntary  system  of  recruiting  the  British  army. 

England's  Militarism. 

We  have  referred  only  to  "German  militarism"  on  land, 
for  we  do  not  believe  that  its  enemies  would  desire  to  bring 
in  the  question  whether  "militarism"  also  includes  large  sea 
forces,  for  if  they  did  they  would  find  the  British  navy,  which 
has  been  overwhelmingly  predominant  on  the  seas  for  gene- 
rations, condemned  by  the  force  of  their  own  logic.  If  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  militarism  on  land,  it  is  only  fair  to  conclude 
that  there  is  a  militarism  of  the  sea  as  well.  Yet  we  believe 
that  there  would  be  a  loud  protest  if  an  attempt  were  made 
to  indict  Great  Britain  on  the  ground  that  her  "naval  militar- 
ism" were  something  that  should  be  utterly  "wiped  out."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  the  army  of  Germany  is  not  so  large 
in  proportion  to  the  armies  of  her  neighbors  as  the  navy  of 
England  is  compared  to  the  navies  of  other  nations.  It  may  be 
urged  that  an  overwhelming  navy  is  essential  to  Great  Britain 
on  account  of  her  colonial  possessions.  Nobody  will  gainsay 
that,  nor  should  any  one  doubt  that  Germany  may  find  in  the 
existence  of  two  great  enemies  to  the  east  and  west  of  her  an 
equally  good  excuse  for  the  excellent  army  which  she  has  had 
for  more  than  half  a  century. 

Thus  an  analysis  of  the  thing  called  "German  militarism" 
discloses  nothing  that  has  in  it  any  aspect  or  character  of  a 
monster  that  is  going  about  among  the  nations  seeking  whom 
it  may  devour.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  found  to  contain  ele- 
ments of  national  strength  that  other  nations  would  do  well  to 
copy  and  that  even  England  has  been  urged  to  adopt.  We 
believe  that  the  explanation  which  we  have  here  given  of 
"German  militarism"  is  essential  to  the  formation  by  Ameri- 
cans of  proper  views  as  to  the  need  of  an  adequate  army.     If 


—     93     — 

we  permit  ourselves  to  be  carried  away  by  silly  and  unreason- 
able attacks  upon  a  "militarism"  which  exists  only  in  the  ima- 
gination of  a  few  dreamers,  we  are  liable  to  miss  one  of  the 
most  important  lessons  that  this  war  has  for  the  United  States, 
namely,  the  value  of  instant  military  preparedness." 

German  Efficiency  Hated  by  the  British. 

In  addition  to  the  above  splendid  definition  we  quote  Pro- 
fessor Thomas  C.  Hall  of  New  York,  who,  in  a  contribution 
to  the  N.  Y.  Sun  of  January  1  7th  1915  said:  "What  men  in 
London  dislike  is  not  militarism,  but  German  efficiency.  Lord 
Roberts  was,  and  Lord  Kitchener  is,  far  more  of  a  militarist 
than  Bernhardi  ever  aspired  to  be.  Will  England  give  up  her 
navy,  and  Russia  and  France  their  armies  if  Germany  aban- 
dons her  "militarism?"  Russia  was  bullying  France  into  a 
three  years  military  system  and  France  was  insisting  that  Russia 
raise  her  army  to  eight  millions  and  rebuild  her  navy  as  a  con- 
dition of  the  "peaceful  alliance."  And  England  has  had  her 
"two  Power  standard"  for  her  navy.  These  are  nice  angels 
of  peace  to  talk  piously  of  German  militarism!" 

A  contrast  of  the  manner  in  which  England  and  Germany 
obtained  their  colonies. 

To  convince  our  readers  of  the  hypocricy  of  the  British 
"angel  of  peace,"  we  recommend  them  to  read  over  again 
the  first  and  second  chapters  of  our  book,  which  state,  that  in 
all  history  no  country  has  carried  on  so  many  wars  for  con- 
quest and  plunder,  and  has  in  obtaining  her  colonies  commit- 
ted so  many  cruel  wrongs  and  inhuman  acts  as  England. 

On  the  other  hand,  by  glancing  again  at  chapter  three,  we 
find  that  Germany,  during  the  two  thousand  years  of  its  exist- 
ence, has  been  constantly  compelled,  to  defend  herself.  Wars 
for  conquest  are  very  few,  and  as  far  as  the  colonies  are  con- 
cerned, which  Germany  has  acquired  since  1 884,  it  can  be 
stated,  that  they  came  into  her  possession  by  peaceful  agree- 
ments. In  the  Camerons,  in  Southwest-  and  East  Africa,  on 
New  Guinea  and  Marshall  Islands  German  Trading  Companies 
had,  by  treaties  with  the  native  population,  secured  certain 
rights  and  authorities  which  they  involuntarily  transfered  to  the 
German  Government  later  on.  The  two  Islands  Upolu  and 
Savai  of  the  Samoa  group  were  obtained  through  an  agree- 
ment with  England  and  the  United  States.     The  Marian-  and 


—     94     —  ^ 

Caroline  Islands  were  bought  from  Spain ;  while  Kiautchou  was 
leased  from  China  for  a  term  of  99  years. 

That  England  is  out  for  plunder  again  in  the  present  war, 
is  shown  by  the  eagerness  with  which  she  set  out  to  secure 
German  Togoland,  the  Camerons,  German  New  Guinea  and 
Samoa. 

England  the  originator  of  the  world's  naval  armaments. 

It  was  England,  that  by  constantly  increasing  her  gigantic 
navy,  by  building  dreadnoughts  and  super-dreadnoughts, 
compelled  all  countries  of  both  hemispheres  to  similar  efforts, 
if  they  would  not  renounce  all  importance  on  the  seas  and  all 
possibility  of  rejecting  British  insolence. 

That  infringements  on  the  rights  of  other  nations  would  in- 
crease thousandfold,  if  England  should  become  victorious  in 
the  present  struggle,  must  be  assumed  as  a  matter  of  fact.  And 
the  warning,  our  American  statesmen  should  take  from  this 
book  and  the  present  experiences  of  Germany,  is,  that,  if  Ger- 
many is  defeated,  our  United  States  will  be  England's  next 
victim. 

You  Senators  and  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
are  you  unable  to  read  the  lessons  of  history?  Can  you  be 
blind  toward  the  fact,  that  it  is  England's  goal  to  keep  that 
absolute  mastery  of  the  seas,  for  which  she  has  fought  for  cen- 
turies? Study  the  map  and  convince  yourselves,  that  England 
has  secured  possession  of  all  points  which  control  the  seas  and, 
at  the  same  time,  make  mercantile  trade  of  other  nations  de- 
pendent on  English  permission. 

In  his  able  paper  "What  England  aims  at"  Dr.  Dernburg,  the 
former  Colonial  Secretary  of  Germany,  explains  this  situation 
as  follows: 

**To-day,  to  commence  at  the  north,  the  Baltic  is  bottled  up 
by  the  English  command  of  the  sounds.  No  Swedish,  no 
Finnish,  no  Russian,  no  Danish,  and  no  German  ship  can  to- 
day go  out  without  being  stopped  and  searched.  The  same  is 
the  case  with  the  North  Sea.  It  is  locked  in  the  north  by  the 
British  command  of  the  Orkneys  and  Shetlands;  locked  in  the 
west  by  the  British  command  of  the  Channel.  No  ship,  either 
German,  or  Belgian,  or  Dutch,  or  French,  can  to-day  come  out 
of  the  North  Sea  without  British  permission.  The  Mediter- 
ranean is  controlled  by  the  possession  of  Gibraltar,  and  of 
Malta,  and  of  Suez,  and  of  Cyprus.  No  ship,  neither  Turkish, 
nor  Greek,  nor  Austrian,  nor  Italian,  nor  French,  can  get  to 
the  high  seas  without  British  inspection  and  permission. 


—     95     — 

British  stations  on  the  coast  of  Africa  are  equally  numerous ; 
the  Gold  Coast  and  Lagos  and  the  Islands  of  Ascension  and 
St.  Helena  and  the  Cape  on  the  west  side;  Durban  and  Zanzi- 
bar and  Port  Sudan  on  the  east  side.  The  Red  Sea  is  abso- 
lutely closed  by  the  British  possession  of  the  Island  of  Perim 
and  the  rock  fortress  of  Aden.  In  the  Persian  Gulf  there  is 
Bushir  and  Koweit,  two  English  strongholds.  On  the  way  to 
China  there  is  Ceylon  and  Singapore.  On  the  coast  of  China 
you  have  Hongkong  and  Shanghai,  which  is  practically  British, 
and  Wei-Hei-Wei.  In  the  South  Sea  there  is  British  New 
Guinea  and  New  Zealand  and  Fiji  and  the  Tonga  Islands.  So 
that  practically  in  all  these  seas  Great  Britain  can  permit  or 
forbid  oversea  trade. 

Any  nation  engaged  in  mercantile  shipping  must  take  these 
things  into  account,  but  for  the  United  States  there  is  a  very 
special  reason.  The  Panama  Canal  is  a  main  asset  of  Ame- 
rican oversea  trade,  and  the  activities  of  the  pro-mercantile 
navy  people  have  mostly  South  America  in  view.  Now,  while 
it  is  quite  true  that  on  the  north  there  is  the  long  land  Cana- 
dian frontier,  that  is  in  no  way  a  danger  to  the  United  States, 
there  are  also  in  the  north  a  number  of  British  coaling  sta- 
tions. They  can  and  do  control  the  entrance  to  American 
harbors.  There  you  have  St.  John  and  Halifax  within  easy 
reach  of  New  England.  British  cruisers  are  now  constantly 
patrolling  the  mouths  of  your  harbors  of  New  York  or  of  Del- 
aware. And  then  commences  that  marvelous  chain  of  British 
fortified  coaling  stations  that  block  up  absolutely  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  the  Panama  Canal.  It  commences  with  the  Ber- 
mudas, just  about  opposite  Charleston;  the  Bahamas,  com- 
manding the  straits  between  Key  West  and  Havana;  Jamaica, 
the  entrance  of  the  Carribbean  Sea.  And  then  you  have  Bar- 
badoes,  Trinidad,  &c.,  that  ships  from  the  United  States  must 
pass  on  their  way  to  South  America.  And  it  is  not  much 
better  on  the  west  side,  where  from  the  port  of  Vancouver  the 
whole  American  west  coast  is  skirted." 

Fortunately  the  United  States  has  still  some  papers,  that  do 
not  lose  sight  of  the  meaning  of  this  situation.  There  is  for 
instance  the  "Washington  Post,"  which  on  December  19th 
had  an  editorial  under  the  heading:  ''British  Militarism  on  the 
Sea — the  Real  Menace." 

This  article  said:  "Militarism  on  land  is  a  hateful  thing,  to  be 
fought  and  destroyed  if  it  takes  all  the  nations  of  Europe  to  do 
it.     But  militarism  on  the  sea  is  an  admirable  thing,  so  long  as 


—     96     — 

it  is  British  militarism.  That  is  the  British  view  which  the  world 
is  asked  to  accept. 

But  how  can  the  United  States  be  expected  to  rest  at  ease, 
without  increasing  its  navy,  in  the  face  of  Great  Britain's  de- 
termination to  build  such  a  gigantic  navy?  How  can  there  be 
any  assurance  of  peace  in  the  world  while  one  nation  plans  to 
dominate  all  the  others  in  every  sea? 

Great  Britain  appeals  for  the  sympathy  of  the  world,  and 
especially  for  the  sympathy  of  the  United  States,  on  the  ground 
that  she  is  "fighting  America's  battle  against  militarism."  Ger- 
many is  held  up  an  ogre  to  frighten  Americans.  Germany's 
great  military  machine  is  denounced  as  a  menace  to  the  world, 
which  must  be  destroyed  before  Europe  or  America  can  be 
secure. 

But  what  about  British  militarism?  What  about  the  mobile 
military  machine  which  England  can  move  against  our  ports 
and  against  the  Panama  Canal?  Germany's  army  is  not  a 
menace  to  the  United  States,  because  it  cannot  come  to  these 
shores.  But  Britain's  navy  can  come,  and  it  can  bring  an 
army  with  it." 

There  is  no  distinction  to  be  made  between  German  mili- 
tarism and  British  militarism.  The  United  States  does  not  relish 
being  threatened  by  either  kind  of  militarism.  It  will  not  con- 
sent to  the  overlordship  of  Great  Britain.  The  unctuous  sug- 
gestion that  all  nations  should  yield  the  seas  to  Great  Britain — 
that  she  will  look  after  them — that  her  yoke  is  easy  and  her 
intentions  honorable — is  not  at  all  reassuring  to  Americans. 
They  do  not  want  a  yoke,  even  a  British  yoke." 


Does  America  need  a  third  war  for 
independence  ? 

To  obtain  freedom  from  British  oppression  the  thirteen 
English  colonies  of  America  were  compelled  to  wage  against 
selfish  England  two  great  wars,  the  one  lasting  from  1  775  to 
1783,  the  other  from  1812  to  1814.  They  are  k/iown  to 
American  history  as  *The  First  and  Second  War  for  Inde- 
pendence." Both  of  them  were  successful  insofar  as  the  Ame- 
rican people  threw  off  the  British  yoke.  This  liberation,  how- 
ever, was  only  political.  In  all  other  respects  the  United 
States  has  remained  an  English  colony,  and — in  the  1  38  years 
which  elapsed  since  the  establishment  of  the  Union — Ameri- 
cans have  failed  to  cast  off  also  the  chains  of  intellectual  de- 
pendence upon  England. 

This  fact  has  been  exposed  by  Alexander  Harvey  in  an 
article  written  for  the  "Fatherland"  of  August  24th,  1914,  and 
disclosing  the  secret  of  American  attitude  toward  Germany. 
Mr.  Harvey  remarks:  "Germans  should  never  forget  that  the 
United  States  has  still  to  achieve  its  independence  of  Great 
Britain.  There  is  a  popular  impression,  to  be  sure,  that  George 
Washington  and  men  about  him  threw  off  the  British  yoke  as  a 
result  of  the  surrender  at  Yorktown.  But  it  is  only  technically 
true  that  the  British  yoke  was  thrown  off.  We  learn  from  the 
pages  of  history  that  Frederick  the  Great  was  the  first  Europ- 
ean sovereign  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  American 
Republic.  He  was  premature.  The  truth  is  that  this  British 
yoke  rests  upon  the  American  people  more  heavily  than  it 
did  when  they  threw  the  tea  into  Boston  Harbor.  To  be  sure, 
they  elect  a  chief  magistrate  whose  father  or  whose  grand- 
father came  from  England.  There  is  an  official  capital  at 
Washington.  Nevertheless,  the  United  States  is  ruled  from 
London.  This  sounds  like  paradox  until  we  look  below  the 
superficial  aspect  of  the  United  States  Government.  Not  until 
then  shall  we  discern  the  forces  determining  the  life  of  the 
American  people.  Those  forces  are  British  for  the  simple 
reason  that  Americ€ms  have  their  thinking  done  for  them  in 
London  on  many  a  theme  besides  world  politics  long  before 
any  idea  haa  entered  their  own  provincial  hc2wl».**— - 


—     98     — 

To  prove  this  statement,  Mr.  Harvey  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  ideals,  precedents  and  traditions  of  the  United 
States  are  all  English;  that  her  laws  are  made  by  Congress, 
but  must  be  strained  by  the  Federal  Courts  through  the  sieve 
of  British  tradition;  that  American  religion  and  American 
customs  are  of  English  origin;  and  that  all  American  people 
look  askance  at  liberties  not  coming  from  England. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Harvey  says:  "Americans,  in  short,  live 
in  an  atmosphere  created  for  them  by  the  British.  The  citizen 
of  the  United  States  swims  like  a  fish  in  the  waters  of  his  own 
Anglicanism.  Some  fish  must  see  only  as  distortions  what- 
ever is  not  in  immediate  relation  to  their  environment.  The 
lens  of  the  piscatorial  eye  adjusts  itself  only  to  the  water  in  the 
aquarium.  What  is  beyond  the  glass  front  seems  monstrous, 
horrible.  Hence,  the  panic  into  which  certain  species  of  fish 
are  precipitated  by  the  aspect  of  a  spectator.  And  the  Ameri- 
can fish  looks  at  the  German  emperor  through  the  medium  of 
British  policy,  catching  the  most  distorted  imagination  on  the 
other  side  of  the  London  glass." 

The  absolute  truth  of  these  assertions  must  be  admitted  by 
all  conversant  with  American  life,  politics,  and  history.  How- 
ever, the  profound  disgrace  of  the  situation  has  never  been 
so  msinifest  as  during  the  present  European  war. 

President  Wilson's  Message  on  Neutrality. 

Soon  after  this  war  broke  out,  on  August  18th,  President 
Wilson  sent  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  following 
message,  the  most  important  parts  of  which  are  given  here  in 
heavier   types: 

"My  Fellow-Countrymen:  I  suppose  that  every  thoughtful 
man  in  America  has  asked  himself  during  these  last  troubled 
weeks  what  influence  the  European  war  may  exert  upon  the 
United  States,  and  I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  a  few  words 
to  you  in  order  to  point  out  that  it  is  entirely  within  our  own 
choice  what  its  effects  upon  us  will  be  and  urge  very  earnestly 
upon  you  the  sort  of  speech  and  conduct  which  will  best  safe- 
guard the  nation  against  distress  and  disaster. 

The  effect  of  the  war  upon  the  United  States  will  depend 
upon  what  American  citizens  say  and  do.  Every  man  who 
really  loves  America  will  act  and  speak  in  the  true  spirit  of 
neutrality,  which  is  the  spirit  of  impartiality  and  fairness  to  all 
concerned.  The  spirit  of  the  nation  in  this  critical  matter  will 
be  determined  largely  by  what  individuals  and  society  and 
those  ^ather^  in  public  meetings  do  and  say,  upon  what 


—     99     — 

newspapers  and  magazines  contain,  upon  what  ministers  utter 
in  their  pulpits,  and  men  proclaim  as  their  opinions  on  the 
street. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  drawn  from  many 
nations  and  chiefly  from  the  nations  now  at  war.  It  is  natural 
and  inevitable  that  there  should  be  the  utmost  variety  of  sym- 
pathy and  desire  among  them  with  regard  to  the  issue  and 
circumstances  of  the  conflict.  Some  will  wish  one  nation,  others 
another,  to  succeed  in  the  momentous  struggle. 

It  will  be  easy  to  excite  passion  and  difficult  to  allay  it. 
Those  responsible  for  exciting  it  will  assume  a  heavy  respon- 
sibility— responsibility  for  no  less  a  thing  than  that  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  whose  love  of  their  country  and  whose 
loyalty  to  its  government  should  unite  them  as  Americans,  all 
bound  in  honor  and  affection  to  think  first  of  her  and  her  in- 
terests, may  be  divided  in  camps  of  hostile  opinion,  hot  against 
each  other,  involved  in  the  war  itself  in  impulse  and  opinion 
if  not  in  action. 

Such  divisions  among  us  would  be  fatal  to  our  peace  of  mind 
and  might  seriously  stand  in  the  way  of  the  proper  performance 
of  our  duty  as  the  one  great  nation  at  peace,  the  one  people 
holding  itself  ready  to  play  a  part  of  impartial  mediation  and 
speak  the  counsels  of  peace  and  accommodation,  not  as  a 
partisan,  but  as  a  friend. 

I  venture,  therefore,  my  fellow-countrymen,  to  speak  a 
solemn  word  of  warning  to  you  against  the  deepest,  most 
subtle,  most  essential  breach  of  neutrality  which  may  spring 
out  of  partisanship,  out  of  passionately  taking  sides.  The 
United  States  must  be  neutral  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name,  during 
these  days  that  are  to  try  men's  souls.  We  must  be  impartial 
in  thought  as  well  as  in  action,  must  put  a  curb  upon  our  senti- 
ments as  well  as  upon  every  transaction  that  might  be  con- 
strued as  a  preference  of  one  party  to  the  struggle  before  an- 
other. 

My  thought  is  of  America.  1  am  speaking,  1  feel  sure,  the 
earnest  wish  and  purpose  of  every  thoughtful  American  that 
this  great  country  of  ours,  which  is,  of  course,  the  first  in  our 
thoughts  and  in  our  hearts,  should  show  herself  in  this  time 
of  peculiar  trial  a  nation  fit  beyond  others  to  exhibit  the  fine 
poise  of  undisturbed  judgment,  the  dignity  of  self-control,  the 
efficiency  of  dispassionate  action;  a  nation  that  neither  sits  in 
judgment  upon  others  nor  is  disturbed  in  her  own  councils, 
and  which  keeps  herself  fit  and  free  to  do  what  is  honest  and 
disinterested  and  truly  serviceable  for  the  peace  of  the  world. 
-  Shall  we  not  resolve  to  put  upon  ourselves  the  restraints 


—     100     — 

which  will  bring  to  our  people  the  happiness  and  the  great 
and  lasting  influence  for  peace  we  covet  for  them?*' 

In  order  to  impress  the  spirit  of  this  message  as  strong  as 
possible  on  the  nation,  the  President  furthermore  asked  that 
the  fourth  day  of  October  should  be  spent  in  prayer  and  sup- 
plication for  a  speedy  termination  of  the  bloodshed  and  woe. 

If  we  now  inquire  about  the  effect  of  these  recommend- 
ations all  true  Americans  must  admit,  that  the  result  is  dis- 
heartening. The  message  was  nothing  but  another  "scrap  of 
paper**  which  remained  unheeded  and  was  forgotten  soon 
after  it  had  been  printed  and  read.  Neither  the  government 
nor  the  American  Press,  nor  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  nor  the 
professors  of  our  universities,  nor  the  public  kept  the  solemn 
recommendations  in  mind,  but  all  acted  according  to  their  own 
interests  and  sympathies. 

Our  un-American  American  Press. 

The  first  who  forgot  the  grave  responsibility  they  owe  to 
society  as  well  as  to  the  nation,  were  many  of  those  papers, 
that  constitute  our  American  Press.  As  through  this  medium 
the  strongest  and  deepest  influence  can  be  exerted  on  the 
public,  the  exhortations  of  the  President*s  message  were  un- 
doubtedly in  the  first  line  meant  for  our  newspapers.  But  did 
the  editors  of  these  papers  keep  in  mind,  that  the  people  of  the 
United  States  is  drawn  from  many  nations,  and  that  therefore 
impartiality,  fairness  and  friendliness  to  all  concerned  should 
be  strictly  observed?  On  the  contrary.  As  soon  as  the  first 
gun  was  fired  in  the  great  European  war,  numerous  of  those 
papers,  printed  in  English,  displayed  an  exceedingly  hostile 
attitude  toward  everything  German  and  began  to  work  up  a 
strong  anti-German  sentiment.  Instead  of  holding  their 
judgment  in  suspense  until  the  full  truth  was  known,  they 
branded  the  German  nation  and  the  German  Emperor  as  the 
great  malefactors,  guilty  of  the  appalling  conflagration  now 
raging,  and  upon  whom  the  curse  of  all  nations  should  fall. 

In  grave  violation  of  the  neutrality  urged  by  the  President, 
they  published  Rudyard  Kipling*s  poem  of  the  German 
**Huns.**  Without  discretion  and  critical  comment  they  pulished 
also  the  meanest  and  most  absurd  stories  of  alleged  Gernian 
atrocities  which  the  news  agencies,  hired  scribblers  and  fiction 
writers  of  the  All-lies  sent  by  cable  or  mail. 

Every  German  reverse,  real  or  imaginary,  was  published  in 
glaring  headlines,  in  a  manner  so  indelicate,  that,  as  an  Ame- 
rican stated  "it  would  be  open  to  criticism  even  if  we  ourselves 


^    iOi    -^    '■  ' 

Were  engaged  in  a  war  with  Germsiny.*'  On  the  contrary,  re- 
ports about  German  successes  were  belittled  and  placed  in 
corners  of  the  papers,  where  they  would  hardly  be 
noticed.  The  editorials  were  of  course  wholly  in  keeping  with 
this  anti-German  and  pro-Allied  attitude. 

To  these  verbal  assaults  on  everything  German,  many 
papers  added  drawings  and  cartoons  of  still  more  insulting 
character.  Under  the  heading  * 'Running  Amuck'*  the  German 
Emperor  was  portrayed  as  the  crazy  War  Lord,  who  "shoots 
up  the  town.**  Another  cartoon  showed  him  as  he,  with 
blood-dripping  sword,  daughters  the  Goddess  of  Civilization. 
One  paper  treated  its  readers  with  a  picture  of  the  Kaiser,  as 
he  with  the  other  rulers  of  Europe  wades  up  to  his  breast  into 
a  pool  of  blood,  shouting  to  the  Italian,  who  hesitates  at  the 
shore:  *'Come  on  in,  the  Blood  is  fine!** 

The  most  horrid  cartoon  showed  the  Emperor  in  Hell.  In 
conception  and  execution  this  drawing  was  so  repulsive,  that 
even  the  pro-British  * 'Evening  Sun**  protested  against  it  as  an 
outrage. 

How  the  German  Press  of  America  felt  about  it,  may  be 
seen  from  an  editorial  in  the  "New  York  Staatszeitung**  of  Oc- 
tober 21st,  in  which  it  says:  *'To  publish  such  a  cartoon  is  the 
worst  crime  ever  committed  under  the  name  of  liberty  of  the 
press.  What  an  abbyss  of  brutal  disposition!  The  Prince  of 
Hell  could  not  go  at  work  more  satanic.  After  this  performance 
it  is  difficult  to  see,  what  more  could  be  done  to  poison  the 
mind  of  the  public,  and  what  more  will  be  done  to  set  the 
different  parts  of  our  population  against  another.** 

When  Mr.  Jeremiah  0*Leary,  President  of  the  American 
Truth  Society,  on  January  1 2th  gave  his  famous  lecture  on 
"American  Neutrality**  in  Carnegie  Hall,  producing  a  series  of 
lantern  slides,  showing  the  glaring  headlines  and  cartoons  of 
our  leading  papers,  these  pictures,  whose  untruthfulness  and 
absurdity  had  become  apparent  with  time,  caused  storms  of 
laughter  among  the  large  audience.  But  in  the  hearts  of  many 
they  caused  deep  depression,  as  they  were  proofs  of  the  un- 
deniable fact,  to  what  evil  work  these  papers  had  committed 
themselves. 

The  un-American  character  of  these  papers  becomes  more 
apparent  also  from  the  fact,  that,  when  the  absolute  untruth 
of  the  alleged  German  atrocities  was  admitted  even  by  the 
British  Government,  the  editors  found  no  word  of  excuse  for 
having  fed  their  readers  with  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  lies. 
Also,  they  did  nothing  to  clear  the  honor  of  the  German 
nation  and  the  German  army  from  the  calumnies  they  had 


---  _     102     — 

thrown  upon  them,  and  they  were  not  fair  enough  to  publish 
the  report  sent  on  January  28th  1915  by  the  U.  S.  Ambassador 
in  London  to  the  State  Department,  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment had  been  unable  to  verify  one  single  case  of  German 
atrocity,  although  it  had  examined  thousands  of  Belgian  fug- 
itives. 

It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  state,  however,  that  not  all  English 
papers  did  behave  in  such  undignified  manner.  There  were 
many  editors,  who  believed  in  a  "Square  Deal  and  Fair  Play 
for  All"  and  refused  to  print  the  rotten  stuff  that  like  an  evil- 
smelling  stream  came  into  their  offices.  So  did  for  instance  the 
"Pittsburg  Leader,*'  which,  on  September  1  6th  made  clear  its 
position  in  the  following  manner: 

THE  LEADER'S  POSITION. 

"Many  stories  of  alleged  atrocities  committed  by  the  Ger- 
mans in  the  European  war  are  being  circulated  in  America. 

"The  Leader  does  not  believe  these  stories  to  be  true  and 
will  not  publish  them. 

"The  manner  of  life  of  the  many  Germans  in  this  commu- 
nity gives  the  lie  to  any  charge  that  the  German  people  are 
barbarous.  America  has  no  better  citizens  than  those  of  Ger- 
man birth. 

"No  race  of  people  surpasses  the  Germans  in  humanity, 
kindness  of  heart  and  consideration  for  those  about  them.  It 
is  impossible  that  the  charges  sent  out  against  them  could  be 
true. 

"The  Leader  believes  that  the  stories  of  atrocities  are  base- 
less, and  are  issued  merely  to  influence  American  opinion 
against  the  Germans. 

"Before  the  Leader  prints  any  such  stories  they  will  have 
to  be  better  authenticated  than  at  present. 

September  1  6th,   1914.  Pittsburg  Leader." 

The  evil  effect  of  our  pro-British  papers  on  our  nation. 

The  serious  danger  lurking  for  the  American  population  in 
the  anti-German  attitude  of  many  American  papers  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  sad  example,  set  by  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  H. 
Parkhurst  of  New  York.  Like  Kate  Hume,  the  English  teacher 
of  Dumfries,  who  by  the  atrocity-stories  of  the  British  press 
became  incited  to  hysterical  hatred,  this  minister  of  the  gospel 
also  fell  victim  of  a  corrupt  journalism  and  furnished  it  with 
fierce  tirades,  in  which  he  not  only  suggested  to  shoot  the  Ger- 
man Emperor  like  a  mad  dog,  but  also  made  the  following  re- 
commendation toward  Germany: 


—     103     — 

"It  may  not  be  necessary  to  strangle  her,  but  her  claws  should 
be  clipped  and  her  teeth  filed,  and  enough  of  her  fortifications 
dismantled  to  render  her  harmless,  and  as  heavy  a  war  indem- 
nity imposed  as  will  not  drive  her  to  absolute  penury.  This 
policy  should  be  adopted  in  no  spirit  of  revenge,  but  in  persu- 
ance  of  a  policy  essential  to  universal  security,  comfort,  and 
well-being.  Anything  less  than  this  will  necessitate  the  even- 
tual repetition  of  the  present  tragedy.** 

These  ferocious  utterances  of  a  minister,  whose  office  it 
should  be  to  impress  upon  humanity  the  spirit  of  friendliness 
and  brotherly  love,  were,  sorry  to  say,  not  the  only  ones,  that 
disturbed  and  upset  the  mind  and  peace  of  our  American 
population.  There  were  thousands  and  thousands  of  other 
clergymen,  professors,  teachers,  legislators  and  other  promi- 
nent persons,  who,  believing  in  the  malicious  stories  of  Ger- 
man atrocities  and  in  the  dreadful  danger  of  German  militar- 
ism, saw  in  their  irritated  minds  the  endless  hordes  of  German 
Huns  already  marching  into  this  country  and  the  ghost  of  Mili- 
tarism hanging  over  all  our  hills  and  valleys. 

Stirred  by  trembling  fright  and  holy  wrath  they  too  joined 
in  the  anti-German  crusade  and  filled  the  hearts  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  who  do  not  know  Germany  from  personal  experience, 
with  contempt  and  hatred  for  all  things  German. 

Now,  what  sane  and  reasonable  man  could  assume,  that  the 
many  million  American  citizens  of  German  birth  and  German 
descent,  who  are  full  of  love  for  this  country  but  venerate  also 
the  old  fatherland,  would  without  the  slightest  opposition  sub- 
mit to  the  grave  situation,  created  by  a  corrupt  press  and  un- 
reasonable men?  When  they  keenly  resent  anti-German  in- 
sults and  attacks,  which  sounder  judgment  must  find  unjust- 
ifiable, when  they  arrange  mass-meetings  to  inform  their  misin- 
formed fellow-citizens  about  the  true  condition  of  their  father- 
land and  the  true  cause,  that  led  to  this  unholy  war,  these 
"hyphenated"  perform  not  only  a  duty  to  themselves  and  to 
the  land  of  their  fathers,  but  at  the  same  time,  a  far  greater 
one  toward  our  own  country,  which  they  try  to  save  from 
tremendous  dangers,  into  which  the  combination  of  British 
Tories,  a  pro-British  press,  a  wavering  Government  of  pro- 
British  neutrality,  irrational  ministers  and  professors,  and  a 
duped  and  incited  population  this  country  might  throw.  Who 
can  foresee  what  will  happen,  when  the  British  Tories,  who 
are  active  in  this  country  in  far  greater  numbers  than  any 
American  may  imagine,  would,  in  alliance  with  our  un-Anie- 
rican  press,  succeed  to  seduce  our  government  to  join  the  Allies 
and  take  active  part  in.  this  war?     There    are    many    sober- 


^     i04    — 

minded  Americans  of  other  than  German  descent,  who  fear 
that  such  a  step  would  unchain  all  the  furies  of  afc  second  civil 
war.  Is  our  relation  to  selfish  Albion  worth  while^^io  expose 
our  country,  our  homes  and  families  to  such  a  catastrophe? 

One  word  more  about  the  position  of  the  American  citizens 
of  German  descent  toward  Germany,  with  which  they  are 
connected  by  countless  bonds  and  which  they  venerate  and 
love  just  as  reverently  as  Anglo-Americans  adore  their 
motherland.  Proud  of  the  beauty  and  culture  of  Germany, 
proud  of  its  history  and  high  position  among  the  great  countries 
of  this  world,  they  feel  every  injustice,  done  to  it,  as  an  insult 
to  themselves.  In  view  of  this  fact  it  is  only  but  natural, 
that  they  protest  against  the  calumniation  of  the  land  of  their 
birth  and  their  fathers,  against  the  slandering  of  the  Emperor, 
whom  they  respect  as  the  highest  and  noblest  representative 
of  the  German  nation;  and  against  the  detraction  of  the  brave 
German  army,  in  whose  ranks  they  know  their  own  fathers, 
brothers  and  friends  are  fighting  in  defense  of  their  families 
and  the  destiny  of  the  nation. 

And  still  another  word  to  our  un-American  press.  When 
the  American  citizens  of  German  descent  to  their  great  regret 
perceive,  that  the  editors  of  these  papers  do  not  command  the 
same  amount  of  intelligence  as  the  editors  of  the  "Pittsburg 
Leader**  did  in  judging  the  German  nation  and  its  character, 
is  it  not  their  duty  to  call  the  attention  of  these  editors  to  the 
fact  that  their  statements  are  wrong  and  that  they  are  blindly 
led  by  the  London  New  Agencies?  The  German- Americans 
have  never  regarded  this  as  a  pleasant  task,  but  have  under- 
taken it  because  they  are  convinced  that,  in  doing  it,  they  are 
performing  a  duty  to  the  country  of  their  adpotion. 

British  Efforts  to  Embroil  the  United  States  in  the  Present  War. 

As  it  is  England's  tradition,  to  have  her  fighting  done  by 
other  nations,  she  made  and  is  still  making  strong  efforts,  to 
entice  Uncle  Sam  to  take,  as  an  ally  of  the  Allies,  active  part 
in  this  dreadful  war.  To  reach  this  aim,  the  British  Govern- 
ment employs  the  most  brilliant  authors  of  the  United  King- 
doms, to  impress  upon  Uncle  Sam  in  solemn  words,  that  he  is 
morally  bound  to  fight  Germany  for  the  sake  of  his  British 
Motherland  as  well  as  for  humanity  and  civilization.  It  is 
quite  interesting  to  see,  how  these  British  authors  go  to  work 
about  it. 

Listen  to  Hall  Caine  and  his  call  ''Britain  to  America," 
published  in  the  "Nash*8  Pall  Mall  Gazette.** 


—     105     — 

"It  is  a  lie  and  a  stupid  lie  promulgated  by  Germany,  that 
we  are  in  this  war  for  the  sake  of  Servia. 

It  is  a  lie  that  England  is  in  this  war  for  the  sake  of  France, 
being  compelled  by  secret  obligations  to  support  her  against 
Germany  without  regard  to  the  justice  of  the  quarrel. 

It  is  a  lie  that  England  has  gone  into  this  war  out  of  hatred 
and  envy  of  Germany's  prosperity. 

It  is  a  lie  and  a  brazen  lie  that  Great  Britain  has  entered 
into  this  conflict  because  she  is  afraid  of  Germany's  strength 
and  desires  to  smash  it  before  it  overwhelms  her. 

It  is  a  lie  and  a  preposterous  and  idiotic  lie  that  England  is  in 
this  war  because  she  hates  and  would  like  to  destroy  German 
culture  and  throw  in  her  lot  with  the  ignorance  and  barbarity 
of  a  nation  farther  East.  We  are  fighting  for  the  sanctity  of 
our  pledged  word — this  and  this  alone. 

This  is  a  holy  war,  and  that  is  the  only  kind  of  war  that 
ought  to  be  waged.  It  is  a  war  of  Might  against  Right;  of  the 
pagan  deity  of  brute  force  against  the  Christian  Gods  of 
Truth  and  Freedom;  of  authocracy  against  democracy;  of  the 
overlords  against  the  poor;  of  the  military  classes  who  eat  but 
never  produce  against  the  toiling  classes  who  till  the  earth  or 
plough  the  sea.  Germany  is  the  aggressor  in  the  name  of 
force;  the  Allies  are  the  defenders  in  the  name  of  civilization. 
Where  is  America  in  this  tremendous  conflict  ? 

It  may  be  forgiven  to  a  friend  of  America,  who  loves  it  and 
its  people,  and  has  long  been  under  a  deep  debt  to  both,  to 
ask  it  if  its  neutrality  is  possible  or  right  while  humanity  is 
being  outraged,  while  civilization  is  being  trodden  upon  and 
while  religion  is  being  defied?" 

Another  anonymous  author  penned  for  the  "London  Times** 
of  September  1  0th  the  following  lines  under  the  heading  **The 
Judgment  of  America."  Like  all  other  articles  of  this  sort  this 
too  was  cabled  to  America,  where  it  appeared  in  all  pro-Bri- 
tish papers.    Its  most  important  parts  read  as  follows: 

"We  always  counted  on  the  support  of  American  opinion 
in  the  war  that  has  been  forced  upon  us.  We  counted  upon  it 
so  securely  that  we  at  first  neglected  means  which  perhaps,  in 
prudence,  we  should  have  taken  to  secure  it.  But  we  have  got 
it.  We  counted  aright  and  daily,  as  the  war  develops  the  me- 
thods of  Prusso-German  militarism,  it  rallies  in  growing 
strength  and  volume  to  our  side.  We  are  grateful.  We  prize 
above  the  approval  of  all  other  neutral  nations  that  of  our 
own  kinsman  who  share  our  ideals  and  who  speak  our 
tongue. 


—     106     — 

**It  was  upon  that  basis  of  common  ideals  and  of  common 
feelings  that  we  built  our  trust.  We  have  not  built  in  vain. 
We  knew  that  men  bred  under  laws  and  institutions  which  they 
have  inherited  from  their  fathers  and  from  ours,  or  which  they 
have  evolved  and  modified  according  to  the  principles  that 
joint  inheritance  consecrates  and  sanctions,  could  not  differ 
from  us  in  their  judgment  of  the  main  issues  now  at  stake. 
They  are  plain  questions  of  right  and  of  wrong,  of  good  faith 
and  of  perfidy,  of  the  defence  of  the  weak  and  innocent 
against  the  tyrannous  aggressor,  of  liberty,  democracy  and 
elementary  public  right  against  the  narrow  and  arrogant  creed 
of  an  exclusive  and  feudal  militarism.  We  felt  assured  that 
for  a  people  nurtured  in  the  traditions  of  British  thought  and 
British  law  there  could  be  but  one  answer  to  questions  of  the 
kind.  They  had  but  to  know  the  facts  and  we  were  certain 
of  their  verdict. 

"American  opinion  has  gone  straight  to  the  deeper  issues 
of  the  war.  It  sees  with  Dr.  Eliot  that  German  militarism  and 
all  which  it  implies  are  the  root  causes  of  the  conflict.  It  sees 
that  this  militaristic  code  is  the  direct  negation  of  all  civili- 
zation, all  progress  and  all  morality  as  the  world  has  hitherto 
understood  them.  And  it  sees  that  only  by  their  extermination 
can  the  ideals  and  the  principles  which  the  democracy  of  the 
United  States,  like  the  democracy  of  England,  love  and  rever- 
ence with  their  whole  strength  be  preserved  to  them  and  to 
mankind. 

"By  awakening  the  American  people  to  that  truth  and  to 
their  own  immense  moral  interests  in  the  result,  the  war  has 
aroused  them  for  the  first  time  in  their  history  to  the  conscious- 
ness that  they  cannot  and  ought  not  to  feel  indifferent  to  the 
outcome  of  a  great  European  contest.  That,  in  the  long  run, 
may  be  not  the  least  important  consequence  of  this  tremendous 
struggle." 

The  "New  York  Sun"  gave  to  this  article  the  heading: 
"Britaun  sure  of  Support  of  America." 

The  "Sun"  also  published  several  articles  by  Harold  Begbie, 
a  British  author,  who — as  the  Sun  proclaimed  "was  sent  to  sur- 
vey the  field  of  American  thought,  to  tell  the  English  people 
what  they  can  learn  from  America  and  how  best  they  can  earn 
its  friendship."  That  he,  moreover,  was  commissioned  to  work 
up  the  sentiment  of  the  American  people  can  be  guessed  from 
almost  every  line  of  his  clever  articles.  In  one  of  them,  which 
appeared  in  the  "Sun"  of  October  26th,  says: 

"At  the  outbreak  of  war  American  sympathy  went  out 
n,aturally  and  freely  to  the  allies,  chiefly  because  of  France,  a 


—     107     — 

nation  for  which  America  has  an  instinctive  and  historic 
affection.  For  a  moment  this  sympathy  was  staggered  by  the 
isolation  of  Germany,  and  America's  love  of  fair  play  led  to  a 
transient  reaction  in  favor  of  the  assaulted  German. 

But  with  the  rape  of  Belgium  there  was  an  instant  and  most 
powerful  swing  in  the  other  direction,  and  when  Great  Britain 
declared  war  America,  with  the  exception  of  the  German  ele- 
ment, was  immediately  swept  by  an  enthusiasm  for  the  cause 
of  the  allies  which  has  never  wavered,  but  which  has  become 
much  more  rational  and  challenging  as  the  war  has  advanced. 

There  is  one  other  characteristic  of  American  sympathy 
which  meets  me  everywhere  I  go,  and  that  is  horror,  loathing, 
detestation  of  war.  One  might  think  that  so  far  away  from 
shattered  towns,  blackened  battlefields,  mephitic  trenches  and 
hospitals  crammed  with  scarred  and  mutilated  humanity,  Ame- 
rica would  view  the  conflict  in  Europe  with  a  less  vivid  disgust 
than  a  man  would  expect  to  find  in  France,  Belgium  and  Eng- 
land. 

On  the  contrary,  America  is  sick  with  horror.  Wherever 
I  go  men  express  with  a  vigor  unknown  in  Europe  loathing  and 
disgust  for  this  incessant  and  agonizing  destruction  of  human 
life.  They  tell  me  frankly  that  war  interferes  with  their  com- 
merce and  spreads  confusion  over  the  whole  face  of  American 
social  life;  but  it  is  only  when  they  speak  of  the  suffering  and 
death  of  war  that  their  emotion  colors  and  intensifies  their 
indignation.  And  it  is  because  Germany  is  seen  by  America 
to  be  the  provoker  of  war  that  Americans  are  so  decidedly 
and  earnestly  on  the  side  of  the  allies. 

Some  Americans  I  have  met  are  for  peace  as  soon  as  it 
can  be  obtained;  but  most  of  them  are  convinced  that  there  can 
be  no  prospect  of  an  enduring  peace  uptil  the  spirit  of  Prussian 
militarism  is  crushed  out  of  human  affairs. 

How  long  can  the  neutrality  enjoined  upon  America  by 
President  Wilson  endure  the  strain  of  events?  This  is  the 
great  question.  I  am  one  of  those  who  cannot  understand 
American  neutrality.  I  came  to  America  wondering  how  a 
country  founded  in  freedom  and  inspired  in  all  its  splendid 
attainments  by  faith  in  democracy  could  endure  to  hold  its 
peace  while  the  Belgian  people,  old  men  and  little  children, 
sank  in  blood  beneath  the  iron  wheels  of  a  nation  which  for 
forty-five  years  has  openly  and  boastfully  intoxicated  itself 
with  the  thick  beer  of  truculent  aggression. 

Neutrality,  so  far  as  armed  interference  is  concerned,  one 
can  understand.  England  certainly  does  not  expect  or  ask 
America  to  jeopardize  a  single  human  life.    But  to  be  silent 


—     108     — 

while  Belgium,  bleeds  to  death,  that  astonished  me  when  I  was 
in  Europe,  and  it  astonishes  me  a  thousand  times  more  now  that 
I  have  made  acquaintance  with  the  depth  and  fervor  of  Amer- 
ican sympathy. 

President  Wilson,  I  understood,  has  hard  work  to  maintain 
the  official  attitude  of  neutrality;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  with 
serious  reverses  for  the  allies  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to 
resist  the  tide  of  American  feeling.  In  the  meantime,  while 
the  public  men  of  America  respect  the  ruling  of  their  Presi- 
dent, the  newspapers  make  no  secret  of  their  deliberate  sym- 
pathy with  the  allies;  and  American  citizens,  particularly  the 
women  ,  are  making  a  thousand  sacrifices  in  order  to  send 
generous  succor  to  Belgium. 

England  may  rest  assured  that  with  the  exalting  loyalty  of 
India  and  with  the  abiding  love  of  her  free  dominions  she 
possesses  in  America  a  strong  and  a  mighty  friend  who  is  ready 
with  the  hour  to  prove  his  devotion.  Terribly  as  she  suffers, 
awful  as  are  the  sacrifices  demanded  of  her  and  long  as  the 
path  of  her  agony  and  bitter  anguish  may  be,  England  has 
at  least  the  consolation,  that  her  act  of  self-sacrifice,  her  loyalty 
to  a  small  nation  and  her  steadfast  ratification  of  their  pledged 
work,  even  in  the  very  face  of  death,  have  earned  for  her  a  new 
and  more  enduring  place  in  the  affections  of  a  great  demo- 
cracy. 

If  the  world  is  to  have  peace  it  will  be  through  the  triune 
ideals,  the  associated  dispositions  and  the  allied  democracies 
of  America,  France  and  England." — 

These  are  only  three  samples  of  the  many  English  efforts 
to  lure  America  into  this  unholy  war.  How  numerous  and  in- 
sisting these  efforts  are,  we  learn  from  an  editorial  of  the 
**N.  Y.  Times*'  of  February  3rd,  1915,  in  which  this  paper 
says: 

"Assurance  of  American  sympathy  with  the  English  cause 
does  not  meet  the  hopes  of  all  the  English  people.  From 
Canada,  from  Australia,  and  from  England  itself  we  have  re- 
ceived erpressions  indicating  disappointment  at  our  attitude 
of  neutrality.  Something  more  helpful  than  sympathy,  some- 
thing more  partial  than  neutrality,  protests  against  the  doings 
of  Germany,  and  in  some  quarters  policies  not  distinguishable 
from  actual  interference  in  aid  of  the  Allies,  seem  to  have  been 
expected." —  "There  is  a  feeling  that  we  ought  to  interfere, 
and  with  force,  because  England  is  really  fighting  our  own 
battle,  the  battle  for  deliverance  from  the  spirit  of  military 
cot^quest  and  world  domination  which,  we  are  reminded,  un- 


—    109    — 

less  it  now  be  crushed,  will  ultimately  endanger  our  own  peace 
and  perhaps  our  national  existence.** — 

In  view  of  all  these  British  efforts,  to  involve  our  United 
States  in  the  terrific  war  of  the  nations,  in  view  of  the  anti- 
German  attitude  of  a  great  part  of  our  Press,  nothing  remains 
German  attitude  of  a  great  portion  of  our  Press,  nothing  re- 
mains but  the  serious  question,  how  our  own  government  has 
lived  up  to  President  Wilson*  s  message. 

Is  our  Government  neatral? 

This  question  is  a  matter  of  such  seriousness,  that  it  is  well 
to  bring  the  following  most  important  sentences  of  the  Pre- 
8ident*s  message  once  more  before  our  mind: 

''Every  man  who  really  loves  America,  Mali  act  and  speak 
in  the  true  neutrality  which  is  the  spirit  of  impartiality  and  fair- 
ness and  friendliness  to  all  concerned  .  .  . 

And :  The  United  States  must  be  neutral  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
name  during  these  days  that  try  men's  souls.  We  must  be  im- 
partial in  thoughts  as  well  as  in  action,  must  put  a  curb  upon 
our  sentiments  as  well  as  upon  every  transaction  that  might 
be  construed  as  a  preference  of  one  party  to  the  struggle  before 
another." 

There  are  many  million  citizens  of  different  descent,  who 
claim  to  be  true  Americans  and  loyal  to  this  country,  but  be- 
lieve that  the  Government  has  utterly  failed  to  adhere  to 
the  above  recommendations.  They  complain  about  several 
faults  they  find  in  the  acts  of  this  government.  First,  there 
came,  when  the  only  cable  connecting  the  United  States  with 
Germany,  was  cut,  that  unfortunate  affair  of  the  Say- 
ville  wireless  station.  That  our  government  subjected  this 
station,  the  only  one  that  carried  news  from  Germany,  to  a 
vexatious  censorship,  while  at  the  same  time  the  uncensored 
British  cable  became  a  conduit  through  which  a  torrent  of  mis- 
information inundated  our  country,  has  been  regarded  by 
many  as  a  grave  mistake  and  an  un-neutral  act. 

It  was  no  less  person  than  Hon.  Philander  Knox,  former 
U.  S.  Senator  und  Secretary  of  State,  who  made  in  a  political 
address  at  a  meeting  of  lawyers  the  following  caustic  criticism 
of  the  policies  of  the  present  administration: 

"Our  positive  action  has  at  times  approached  dangerously 
near  to  open  partisanship.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  we  took, 
as  to  certain  German  wireless  stations,  an  attitude  uncalled  for 
under  the  rules  and  principles  of  international  law.  We  prac- 
tically sealed  up  the  German  wireless  station,  and  coincident- 


no 


ally  the  cables  connecting  Germany  and  the  United  States  were 
crippled.  Thus  was  Germany  isolated,  while  the  Allies  had  com- 
plete and  perfect  lines  of  communication  between  America  and 
Europe.  It  is  true  that  the  Administration  blustered  about  con- 
trolling cables  of  the  Allies,  and  imposing  upon  them  the  same 
restrictions  which  it  had  imposed  upon  German  communication, 
yet  every  telegraph  messenger  boy  of  any  intelligence  knows 
of  the  great  cables  running  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Europe,  the 
American  terminals  of  which  can  be  reached  from  the  United 
States  by  telegraph,  telephone,  and  mails,  over  which  the  Exe- 
cutive has  neither  power  nor  control.  I  am  unwilling  to  believe 
that  this  was  intended  as  a  partisan  act  in  favor  of  the  Allies 
as  against  Germany;  and  yet,  unfortunately  for  us,  there  is 
much  in  the  situation  that  gives  ground  for  such  a  charge  upon 
the  part  of  the  German  Government  and  the  German  people." 

A  question  of  far  greater  seriousness  turned  up,  when  it 
became  known  that  many  American  firms  were  engaged  in 
manufacturing  and  shipping  enormous  amounts  of  war  supplies 
of  every  possible  kind,  as  rifles,  revolvers,  guns,  ammunition, 
torpedoes,  submarine  boats,  flying  machines,  horses,  etc.,  etc., 
to  the  Allies,  without  being  hindered  by  the  same  government, 
which  had  placed  an  embargo  upon  all  munitions  of  war  dur- 
ing the  Mexican  crisis  as  long  as  it  was  intended  to  maintain  a 
neutral  position.  As  under  present  conditions  such  shipments 
can  reach  the  Allies  only,  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  tacit 
permission  of  the  Government  to  the  shipping  of  these  war 
supplies  is  in  violation  of  the  President's  message,  which  re- 
commends ''that  all  citizens  of  the  United  States  should  be  im- 
partial in  thought  as  well  as  in  action,  and  should  curb  every 
transaction  that  might  be  construed  as  a  preference  of  one 
party  to  the  struggle  before  another." 

As  these  citizens  can  not  find  the  shipping  of  the  war  sup- 
plies to  one  party  in  harmony  with  the  urgent  recommendations 
of  the  President,  they  held  themselves  entitled  to  protest  against 
the  un-neutral  acts  of  these  manufacturers  and  shippers,  en- 
gaged in  this  line  of  business.  To  inform  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  the  nature  of  the  complaints,  which  have  been 
adopted  in  many  mass-meetings,  we  here  copy  the  resolutions, 
as  passed  in  a  meeting  held  on  December  1  1  th,  1914,  in 
Philadelphia. 

* 'Whereas,  Ten  nations  of  the  old  world  are  now  waging  the 
greatest  war  of  mankind  and  are  not  only  exhausting  their  own 
resources,  but  also  drawing  immense  supplies  and  munitions 
of  war  from  the  United  States  of  America; 


—    Ill    — 

And  Whereas,  The  armament  and  supplies  that  are  being 
furnished  by  he  United  States  tend  to  increase  the  military 
conflagration  of  Europe,  multiply  the  loss  of  life,  already 
appalling,  and  cause  the  destruction  of  property  that  is  bringing 
nations  to  desolation,  and  assist  in  the  prolongation  and  con- 
tinuation of  this  most  dreadful  of  all  wars; 

And  Whereas,  We,  as  a  people,  from  our  hearts  lift  our 
voices  in  prayer  for  peace  while,  as  a  nation,  we  are  aiding  in 
war  and  augmenting  the  struggle  by  emptying  our  private  ar- 
senals and  war  supplies  onto  the  battlefields  of  Europe; 

And  Whereas,  Our  government  has  proclaimed  strict  neu- 
trality and  thereby  given  assurance  to  American  citizens  of  all 
races  and  to  the  belligerent  powers  themselves,  that  we  shall 
give  aid  and  support  to  none,  and  by  our  acts,  as  a  nation, 
break  no  bonds  of  friendship  with  the  countries  with  whom  we 
are  at  peace,  and  create  no  discord  among  our  citizens  here  by 
discriminating  against  their  fatherland ;  yet  when  we  offer  mili- 
tary supplies  and  equipments  to  any  nations  that  choose  to 
buy,  it  is  with  the  full  knowledge  that  for  one  hundred  years 
England,  by  her  supremacy  on  the  sea,  is  the  master  of  all  con- 
traband goods  transported  by  water,  and  that  she  and  her 
friends  alone  can  benefit  by  our  unholy  commerce,  and  we  are 
pursuing  that  course  which  diverges  so  far  from  strict  neutrality 
that  we  injure  our  ancient  friends,  Germany  and  Austria,  by 
every  means  in  our  power,  excepting  the  employment  of  armed 
force  alone. 

And  Whereas,  This  country  has  recognized  the  right  of  our 
government  to  withhold  war  supplies  from  contending  armies 
when  she  had  laid  an  embargo  upon  munitions  of  war  when  the 
feeble  armies  of  Mexico  were  arrayed  against  each  other; 
nevertheless,  she  now  offers  her  limitless  supplies  to  the 
mightiest  armies  that  were  ever  assembled  in  battle  array; 

And  Whereas,  The  United  States  is  disloyal  to  itself  when 
it  promotes  a  foreign  war  by  furnishing  the  sinews  of  war  while 
the  nation  is  prostrate  commercially  and  waiting  for  the  dawn 
of  peace  to  return  to  her  former  prosperity  and  achievements; 

Therefore,  be  it  resolved.  That  we  American  citizens  resid- 
ing in  Philadelphia,  in  mass  meeting  assembled,  hereby  declare 
that  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  to  pass  the  necessary  law  forthwith  that  will  enable  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  lay  an  embargo  upon  all  con- 
traband of  war,  saving  and  excepting  foodstuffs  alone,  and 
thereby  withdraw  from  the  contending  powers  all  aid  and 
assistance  of  this  Republic. 


^    112    — 

And  be  it  further  Resolved,  That  we  are  in  strict  sympathy 
with  the  Christian  endeavor  of  this  nation  to  appeal  to  the  God 
of  Nations  that  peace  may  come  and  reject  as  hypocracy  and 
national  sacrilege  the  commercial  spirit  of  the  country  that  is 
answering  our  supplications  for  peace  by  sending  the  instru- 
ments of  destruction  and  death  to  the  serried  armies  arrayed 
in  struggle  through  the  Empires  of  Europe. 

And  be  it  further  Resolved,  That  we,  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  who  have  contributed  our  full  share  to  American  peace, 
American  Christianity  and  American  civilization,  call  upon 
all  Americans  to  join  with  us  in  enforcing  that  strict  American 
neutrality  that  will  give  aid  and  comfort  to  none  of  the  contend- 
ing powers  and  that  will  withhold  American  resources  from 
promoting  destruction  and  slaughter  among  the  friendly  nations 
of  Europe." — 

Bitter  feeling  speaks  also  from  the  following  letter,  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  National  German-American  Alliance,  Dr.  C.  J. 
Hexamer,  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States: 

,,Mr.  President: — 

I  am  native  American  of  German  descent  and  wish  to  ask 
a  few  pointed  questions. 

Since  America  is  made  up  of  races  and  nationalities  coming 
from  all  the  countries  engaged  in  the  present  war,  the  feelings 
of  none  of  these  various  races  should  be  injured  by  the  stand 
taken  by  the  present  Administration  and,  because  of  the  above- 
mentioned  reason,  the  proclaimed  neutrality  should  be  observ- 
ed most  strictly  in  deed  and  action. 

In  this  regard,  why  is  it  that  the  United  States  found  it  just 
and  fair  to  place  an  embargo  upon  all  munitions  of  war  during 
the  Mexican  crisis  as  long  as  it  was  intended  to  maintain  a 
neutral  position ;  and  now,  after  having  proclaimed  the  strictest 
neutrality  in  the  present  European  situation,  are  munitions  of 
war  of  every  possible  kind  permitted  to  leave  our  shores? 

This  failure  to  keep  strict  neutrality  (neutrality  does  not 
mean  help  to  both  sides,  but  help  to  neither  side)  is  so  much 
more  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  only  one  of  the  parties  en- 
gaged in  the  present  struggle  can  obtain  these  munitions  of 
war. 

Our  failure  in  keeping  strict  neutrality  becomes  thereby  an 
unfriendly  if  not  inimical  act  against  one  particular  nation. 

There  will  be  some,  Mr.  President,  who  will  assert  that  this 
is  business,  and  that  the  United  States  in  this  crisis  needs 
all  the  business  it  can  get  to  make  up  for  other  trade  losses  in 
this  war.     To  them  I  would  say  that  every  dollar  thus  gained 


—     113    — 

will  carry  with  it  the  tears  of  a  ruined  fatherless  family,  and 
the  blood  of  some  brave  man,  regardless  of  his  nationality. 

Every  gun,  bullet  and  article  of  war  leaving  this  country 
means  more  misery  for  the  wives,  mothers  and  children  of 
Europe. 

Does  such  a  policy  coincide  with  one  which  proclaims  a  day 
of  prayer,  asking  God  in  His  might  to  stop  this  slaughter,  while 
with  the  same  hands  we  pocket  dollars  covered  with  the  blood 
of  those  who  fell  by  our  help  ? 

You  cannot  imagine,  Mr.  President,  with  what  chagrin  and 
bitterness  it  fills  the  Americans  of  German  descent  to  see  the 
resources  of  this  great  country,  which  they  have  helped  to  build 
up,  and  in  whose  battles  they  have  given  their  life-blood, 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  enemies  who,  with  their  overwhelm- 
ing forces,  have  proclaimed  it  their  avowed  purpose  to  crush 
our  ancestral  home. 

If  it  was  in  order  to  prevent  trade  losses  that  the  United 
States  did  not  put  an  embargo  on  munitions  of  war  at  this  time, 
why  is  it  then  that  our  Government  allowed  the  violation  of 
neutral  shipping  to  the  detriment  of  our  legitimate  trade — 
contrary  to  the  Declaration  of  London  and  contrary  to  Eng- 
land's statement  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  that  se  would 
uphold  said  declaration? 

Without  the  slightest  protest  from  our  side,  in  which  we 
would  have  been  fully  justified,  England  crippled  neutral  ship- 
ping until — to  insure  their  own  imports — different  countries 
were  forced  to  put  an  embargo  on  the  exportation  of  numerous 
articles  imported  from  America,  thus  destroying  our  only 
present  means  of  trade  with  Germany  and  Austria. 

Our  failure  to  protect  neutral  shipping  has  been  the  greatest 
violation  of  our  own  trade  interests — and  does  it  not  mean  fur- 
ther the  taking  of  a  partisan  position  in  this  conflict? 

What  can  the  United  States  gain  by  allowing  the  Declaration 
of  London  to  be  ignored?  What  are  the  reasons  for  having 
done  so?  Cannot  the  United  States  force  their  rights  to  be 
respected  by  economic  pressure,  since  the  belligerents  are  de- 
pendent on  America  for  supplies? 

As  each  and  every  case  shall  now  be  adjudged,  not  by  a 
fixed  code,  such  as  the  Declaration  of  London,  but  by  the 
somewhat  indefinite  international  law.  Albion  will  do  exactly 
what  she  has  done  in  the  Civil  War,  namely,  she  will  continu- 
ously violate  the  right  of  neutral  shipping  and  hold  off  all  legal 
decisions  until  the  end  of  the  present  conflict. 


—     114     — 

Meanwhile,  England  will  have  her  own  way,  we  will  lose 
much  of  our  legitimate  trade,  and  the  harm  done,  not  only  to 
us  but  also  to  other  nations  concerned,  will  be  beyond  repair. 

Witness  America's  Merchant  Marine. 

Since  the  attitude  of  our  Government  enables  England  to 
cut  off  against  our  own  interests,  even  the  most  necessary 
supplies  from  the  civil  population  of  certain  countries,  do  you 
not  think,  Mr.  President,  that  hereby  the  many  assertions  that 
the  neutrality  of  the  United  States  is  only  a  matter  of  form  and 
does  not  exist  are  justified? 

Most  respectfully  yours, 
The   Presiden,t   of   the   National    German-American   Alliance, 

De.  C.  J.  Hexamer." 

There  are  also  numerous  legislators,  who  protest  against  the 
un-neutral  shipping  of  war  supplies.  Among  these  gentle- 
men is  Hon.  Henry  VoUmer,  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, who  on  the  opening-day  of  the  present  session  of 
Congress  introduced  the  resolution  known  as  H.  J.  377,  to  pro- 
hibit the  export  of  arms  and  ammunitions  of  war.  In  a  speech, 
delivered  on  January  28th  before  a  mass-meeting  at  the  Aca- 
demy of  Music  in  Philadelphia,  this  gentleman  said: 

*'I  introduced  that  resolution  as  an  American  citizen  and  an 
American  representative,  knowing  my  duty  as  such  to  prefer 
the  interests  of  no  country  to  those  of  the  United  States,  and 
not  to  permit  inherited  racial  antipathies  if  any,  to  swerve  me 
from  the  faithful  performance  of  that  duty.  I  introduced  that 
resolution  because  as  an  American  I  did  not  want  my  country, 
in  the  eyes  of  all  contemporaries  and  of  all  posterity,  to  stand 
there  as  the  arch-hypocrite  of  the  world,  that  goes  into  the 
Lord's  holy  sanctuary  in  response  to  a  presidential  proclama- 
tion and  prays  for  peace,  while  her  pockets  are  filled  with  blood 
money  as  wicked  as  the  thirty  pieces  for  which  Judas  sold  his 
master. 

Into  what  sort  of  spiritual  communion  on  that  Sunday  of 
October  4th  did  you  get,  oh  my  American  brother,  with  "the 
Lord,  Holy  God,  who  knoweth  all  things,"  when  you  gave  him 
lip-service  in  the  cause  of  peace  and  humanity  and  then  on 
Monday  resumed  your  interrupted  occupation  of  shipping  the 
instruments  of  murder  to  one  side  only  of  an  unequal  contest, 
in  which  we  pretend  that  all  the  contestants  are  our  friends. 
Thus  we  help  part  of  our  dear  friends  to  kill  or  maim  others  of 
our  dear  friends!  Thus  we  are  helping  seven  who  have  jumped 
on  three,  while  a  couple  of  other  thugs  are  waiting  around  the 
corner  ready  to  jump  in  too  when  the  right  moment  comes; 


—     115     — 

but  they  don't  care  just  yet,  because  the  minority  is  putting  up 
a  too  stiff  a  fight,  a  fight  against  which  Marathon  and  Thermo- 
pylae and  Salamis  and  Plataea  were  tame  exhibitions.  How 
many  German  and  Austrian  widows  and  orphans  and  cripples 
will  be  made  with  our  arms  and  our  munitions?  I  do  not  know, 
but  I  fear  the  account  will  be  kept  somewhere  by  the  Nemesis 
that  comes  to  nations  as  to  individuals,  who  have  crimes  of 
blood  on  their  souls  I  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  We  are 
particeps  criminis  to  the  greatest  crime  against  humanity  and 
civilization  in  all  the  annals  of  time,  for  so  I  regard  the  present 
world-wide  war. 

In  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  House,  we  have 
had  several  hearings  on  my  resolution.  We  have  defended  it 
— and  some  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens  have  assisted  us 
— on  moral,  economic  and  sentimental  grounds  and  on  grounds 
of  the  highest  national  policy.  Against  the  resolution  no  argu- 
ment has  been  made  and  I  predict  that  none  will  be  made.  The 
ammunition  ring  does  not  do  business  that  way.  And  in  the 
pro-British  press  of  this  country,  I  have  seen  but  two  suggestions 
that  could  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  arguments  in  oppo- 
sition. 

1 .  That  the  adoption  of  the  resolution  would  in  itself  be  an 
unneutral  act  against  the  allies. 

2.  That  it  might  be  a  bad  precedent  for  us  to  establish,  if  we 
should  ever  get  into  war,  being  in  a  state  of  unpreparedness, 
would  ourselves  desire  to  import  arms  and  ammunition. 

Now  as  to  the  first  argument  my  answer  is  that  not  only 
would  it  not  be  an  unneutral  act  of  which  the  allies  could  justly 
complain,  to  adopt  the  resolution,  but  that  we  cannot  be 
genuinely  neutral  without  it;  that  the  maintaining  of  our  neu- 
trality in  spirit  as  well  as  in  the  letter,  as  Washington  puts  it, 
to  be  friendly  and  impartial  to  all — requires  such  legislation, 
since  the  control  of  the  seas,  is  at  present  absolutely  with  Great 
Britain  and  our  supplies  can  only  reach  one  side.  Ethical  obli- 
gations always  depend  on  the  concrete  facts  of  the  particular 
case.  This  is  not  an  abstract  question.  The  actual  existing 
conditions  determine  our  duty.  As  the  old  law  writers  put  it, 
when  the  reason  of  the  rule  fails,  the  rule  fails.  Trying  to  be 
honestly  neutral,  we  do  not  ask  you  to  help  Germany  and 
Austria ;  but  we  do  ask  you  to  stop  helping  the  other  side. 

The  precedents  of  I  00  years,  as  such,  without  considering 
the  reason  on  which  they  are  based — an  implied  equality  of 
opportunity  for  both  sides  to  get  these  things  from  us — estab- 
lished our  right  to  export  them,  if  we  choose,  but  no  obligation 
to  do  so.     We  are  under  no  obligation,  express  or  implied, 


—     116     — 

hy  treaty,  international  law  or  law  of  neutrality  to  continue 
this  infamous  trade.  We  are  under  no  obligation  to  export 
anything  that  belongs  to  us. 

Suppose  two  men  are  fighting  here  on  this  platform  and  I 
have  on  this  table  knives  and  pistols  and  other  arms  and  only 
one  can  get  near  me  and  I  keep  out  handing  out  these  weapons 
to  him,  is  that  impartial  neutrality? 

Suppose  another  illustration  which  I  received  in  a  letter  from 
an  old  apple  grower  in  Oregon.  Suppose  I  have  an  orchard 
and  a  neighbor  on  my  right  wants  to  steal  my  apples  and  a 
neighbor  on  my  left  hands  him  a  ladder  so  that  he  can  get  at 
the  apples  and  then  gets  down  on  his  knees  and  prays  to  God 
to  stop  all  stealing  of  apples,  is  that  honest  neutrality? 

Because  England  may  be  disappointed  in  her  hope  to  have 
this  country  and  her  inexhaustible  resources  as  allies  does  not 
establish  her  right  to  complain  if  we  say  that  by  reason  of  exist- 
ing, unprecedented  conditions,  for  our  own  moral  and  material 
welfare,  we  do  not  choose  longer  to  be  her  accomplice. 

Now  as  to  the  second  argument:  If  we  fear  that  we  are  go- 
ing to  be  involved  in  war  and  that  we  will  be  short  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  then  for  goodness  sake  stop  exporting  them 
and  conserve  these  resources, .instead  of  depleting  our  private 
arsenals  for  England's  benefit  and  sending  out  our  cannons  and 
guns  and  powder  and  shot  and  shell  and  armored  automobiles 
and  steel  arrows,  etc.,  to  be  used  against  our  traditional  friends, 
yea  possibly  some  of  them  sometime  to  be  used  against  our- 
selves. 

To  adopt  this  resolution  would  not  only  shorten  this  war,— 
which  is  of  overwhelming  economic  interest —  but  the  incor- 
poration of  the  principle  lying  at  the  base  of  the  resolution  into 
general  international  law,  which  I  confidently  expect  sometime 
to  come,  will  be  one  of  the  most  efficient  deterrents  of  war,  and 
would  mark  the  greatest  practical  progress  ever  made  by  the 
peace  propaganda. 

Great  Britain's  claim  that  we  must  continue  to  export  con- 
traband to  her,  that  we  are  in  duty  bound  to  do  so,  takes  on 
an  almost  comical  aspect,  when  you  observe  that  she  has  her- 
self forbidden  the  neutral  countries  of  Europe  to  make  such 
exports  to  Germany  and  Austria;  that  we  have  repeatedly 
placed  embargoes  on  arms  and  ammunition,  beginning  as  early 
as  1  794  and  down  to  the  resolution  of  1898,  as  amended  on 
motion  of  Senator  Root  in  1912  and  applied  by  Presidents 
Taft  and  Wilson — the  latter  insisting  on  genuine  neutrality  as 
against  a  mere  paper  neutrality  and  that  for  the  benefit  of  a  lot 
of  Mexican  greasers,  saying  that  Huerta  had  ports  and  Carran- 


—     117     — 

za  had  none  and  that  it  was  our  duty  to  treat  them  alike,  in 
tact,  and  not  merely  to  live  up  to  the  dead  letter  of  statutes  not 
equally  and  impartially  applicable  under  the  concrete  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  Are  Mexic€ui  Greasers  nearer  to  the  heart 
of  our  Chief-Executive  and  the  Secretary  of  State  than  Germans 
and  Austrians,  who  have  from  thirty  to  forty  millions  of  blood 
relations  in  this  country?  England  insists  that  we  must  not  cease 
exporting  contraband  to  her — a  trade  frowned  upon  by  inter- 
national law — but  at  the  same  time  having  the  control  of  the 
sea,  she  arrogates  to  herself  the  right  to  interfere  with  and  stop 
our  trade  in  non-contraband,  with  neutral  countries.  She  is 
doing  this  to-day.  She  stops  our  ships,  flouts  our  registry,  in- 
sults old  Glory  and  blockades  our  ports.  Within  sight  of  New 
York's  stupendous  skyscrapers,  English  men-of-war  are  lying 
in  wait  to  stop  and  search  every  outgoing  vessel.  They  have 
dragged  American  ships  to  their  harbors  and  have  detained 
them  for  months.  They  have  trampled  on  American  pass-ports, 
taken  American  citizens  from  Americsm  ships  and  incarcerated 
them  in  British  prisons.  They  have  violated  our  mails.  They 
have  crippled  our  foreign  trade  and  I  charge  that  they  are  do- 
ing all  these  things,  not  solely  on  account  of  the  effect  on  their 
belligerents,  but  with  the  purpose  of  thwarting  our  legitimate 
hope  to  build  up  a  merchant  maurine  and  get  new  markets  out 
of  the  commercial  situation  produced  by  the  war.  They  started 
this  war — i.  e.,  they  created  the  diplomatic  situation  which 
made  war  not  only  possible  but  probable^ — so  that  they  could 
steal  German  trade  and  German  colonies,  as  well  as  destroy 
the  German  fleet.  The  Germans  were  too  smart  and  too  en- 
terprising for  them.  They  could  not  compete  with  them. 
They  were  losing  their  own  markets  to  them  and  the  German 
fleet  was  growing  at  such  a  rate  that  they  could  not  sustain 
the  two-power  standard.  All  these  things  were  admitted  to 
me  personally  by  people  close  to  the  ruling  powers  in  England 
years  ago. 

So,  some  ten  years  ago,  Edward  VII.,  began  to  travel  about 
Europe,  weaving  the  mesh  of  encircling  alliances,  all  aiming 
to  isolate  Germany  and  leave  her  unsupported,  confronting  a 
great  numerical  superiority,  when  the  inevitable  fatal  day 
should  arrive  to  try  out  this  issue  of  the  ages. 

If  you  want  to  know  the  real  cause  of  this  war,  don't  read 
the  blue,  white,  orange,  etc.  books  compiled  by  the  trained 
liars  of  European  diplomacy,  but  just  recall  in  your  memories 
the  explosion  that  took  place  when  Elngland  was  flooded  with 
goods  bearing  the  formula: — ''Made  in  Germany."  No,  this 
wmr  was  not   made   in   Germany,  but  ''Made  in  Germany^* 


—     118     — 

caused  this  war!  At  that  time  a  British  statesman  said:  "The 
moment  the  German  fleet  Hes  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  every 
Englishman  will  be  richer  personally  in  pounds  sterling."  With- 
out English  encouragement  the  Russian  Grand  Duke  would  not 
have  dared  to  attack  the  educated  trained  and  disciplined  fight- 
ing forces  of  Germany  (not  one  in  a  thousand  of  whom  is  illi- 
terate) with  their  arrogant  Russian  hordes  of  whom  not  two  in 
a  thousand  are  able  to  read  and  write.  And  yet  Europe  from 
the  North  Cape  to  the  Golden  Horn  is  to  be  placed  helpless  at 
their  feet. 

Failing  miserable  in  their  attempt  to  argue  this  question,  our 
pro-British  press  dares  to  question  the  loyalty  of  German- 
Americans  in  general  and  of  members  of  Congress  of  that  blood 
in  particular,  because  we  favor  this  legislation.  The  German- 
Americans  need  no  defense  at  my  hands.  In  every  war  in  which 
this  country  has  been  involved,  they  have  furnished  more  than 
their  numerical  proportion  of  men  for  the  armies  of  the  Union. 
And  in  the  walks  of  peace,  have  they  not  been  good  citizens, 
in  the  main,  sober,  industrious,  thrifty,  paying  their  debts,  and 
contributing  their  share  to  the  astonishing  development  of  our 
common  country? 

As  for  my  colleagues  in  Congress  and  myself,  who  have 
been  threatened  by  this  reptile  press  with  prosecutions  for  trea- 
son, deportation,  loss  of  citizenship  and  what  not,  all  I  have 
to  say  to  them  is:  "Do  your  dirtiest  I  We  defy  you!"  We  re- 
member what  you  said  to  the  revered  Karl  Schurz  in  1870 
when  under  similar  circumstances  he  took  a  similar  position 
for  genuine  neutrality.  On  the  floor  of  Congress  he  was  threat- 
ened with  a  dungeon!  But  he  did  not  go  there  and  we  will 
not.  We  know  our  duty  as  American  citizens  and  American 
officials  and  we  will  continue  to  perform  it,  no  matter  how 
many  fits  you  throw  and  though  your  spleen  should  choke 
you. 

If  the  position  of  this  press  is  correct  that  we  are  under  ob- 
ligations to  Great  Britain  to  continue  this  trade  in  contraband, 
while  she  has  the  right  to  interfere  with  and  stop  our  trade  in 
non-contraband  with  neutrals — ,then  what  is  the  use  of  talk- 
ing about  our  neutrality  and  of  holding  neutrality  meetings? 
That  presupposes  that  we  are  a  sovereign  free  and  independ- 
ent nation;  but  if  the  argument  of  our  opponents  is  valid,  then 
we  are  not  that,  but  a  British  dependency;  then  you  are  not 
self-governing,  but  blooming  colonials,  territorials,  don't  ye 
know;  you  should  take  down  the  American  flag  and  hoist  the 
Union  Jack!  You  should  tear  up  that  great  monument  of  free- 
dom promulgated  in  this  city  138  years  ag:o:  the  Declaration 


—     119     — 

of  Independence.  You  should  tear  down  your  historic  old  state 
house  where  it  was  adopted,  that  shrine  of  human  liberty  that 
brought  tears  to  my  eyes  today  with  all  its  hallowed  recollec- 
tions! 

In  the  name  of  America's  martyr  dead,  from  Lexington  to 
Yorktown  and  from  Lake  Erie  to  New  Orleans;  remembering 
Britain's  perfidious  attitude  toward  us  from  1861  to  1865, 
and  in  every  crisis  of  our  history;  in  the  name  of  Ireland's  700 
years  of  tragic  story  with  its  pitiful  procession  from  the  prison 
to  the  gallows  of  Irish  orators,  statesmen  and  poets,  and  its 
countless  thousands  of  Irishmen,  women  and  children  sacri- 
ficed to  the  Moloch  of  British  tyranny  by  the  sword,  by  fire 
and  famine;  in  the  name  of  India  where  hunger  and  pestilence 
walk  hand  in  hand  with  British  civilization;  in  the  name  of 
the  little  South  African  republics  whom  she  murdered  in  cold 
blood  because  she  wanted  their  gold;  in  the  name  of  China 
upon  whom  she  waged  the  infamous  opium  war;  in  the  name 
of  Denmark,  of  Holland  and  even  of  France  whose  fleets  she 
destroyed,  when  her  policy  so  decreed;  in  the  name  of  every 
people  on  earth  that  desires  free  and  independent  develop- 
ment without  being  constantly  under  the  blighting  shadow  of 
English  navalism,  I  appeal  to  you,  my  fellow  citizens  without 
regard  to  race  descent  or  other  discrimination.  Let  us  stand 
on  our  rights  and  let  us  do  the  right.  While  just  and  generous 
to  the  smallest,  let  us  fearlessly  insist  that  the  greatest  powers 
shall  respect  our  flag  and  the  legitimate  commerce  carried  un- 
der its  beautiful  folds.  And  let  the  free  winds  of  heaven  no 
longer  be  offended  by  that  flag  hoisted  above  a  trade  that  has 
upon  it  the  curse  of  Cain.  .Let  us  be  neutral!  Let  us  be  hon- 
estly neutral!" 

The  above  speech,  together  with  the  "round  robin  letter" 
of  the  five  American  journalists,  and  together  with  many  other 
fearless  documents  establish  the  encouraging  fact  that  the  he- 
roic virtues  exhibited  by  the  brave  defenders  of  American  lib- 
erty in  1775  to  1783,  and  in  1812  to  1814,  are  still  alive  a- 
mong  great  masses  of  our  people. 

To  these  true  Americans  we  now  appeaL  We  call  upon  all 
who  proudly  trace  back  their  ancestry  to  the  signers  of  the  De- 
claration of  Independence.  We  call  upon  all  who  keep  sacred 
the  memory  of  Patrick  Henry,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  George  Washington,  Nicholas  Herchheimer,  Baron 
von  Steuben,  and  all  other  noble  fighters  for  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty. We  call  upon  the  many  thousands  of  scholars,  who,  in 
quest  of  learning,  went  to  Germany  and  found  it  to  be  a  land 


—     120    — 

of  the  highest  civilization  and  culture.  We  call  upon  all  who 
sing  our  great  national  anthem  of  the  Free  and  the  Brave,  writ- 
ten during  our  "Second  War  for  Independence."  We  call  up- 
on them  to  wage  a  third  war  for  independence,  and  to  combat 
with  spiritual  weapons  the  Tories  who,  in  our  midst,  make  pro- 
paganda for  King  Georg  V.  with  the  same  loyalty  and  foul 
means  used  by  their  ancestors  in  the  interest  of  George  III.: 
with  falsehood  and  slander,  by  which  they  poison  our  news- 
papers, our  school-books,  our  histories,  our  children,  our  pub- 
lic life  and  our  minds. 

We  appeal  especially  to  the  publishers  and  editors  of  our 
newspapers  and  magazines:  "Free  our  American  journalism 
from  British  rule  and  British  news-agencies !  Establish  your  own 
independent  service  and  appoint  as  your  correspondents  true 
Americans,  politically  and  in  spirit! 

Take  up  your  arms  in  this  new  and  even  greater  war  for 
independence ! 

What  is  now  at  stake  is  not  only  the  vindication  of  the  Ger- 
man nation,  akin  to  our  own  in  blood  and  character,  but  peace 
in  America  seems  jeopardized.  Rescue  our  country  from  Brit- 
ish venom.  See  to  it  that  all  attempts  to  frustrate  harmony 
and  happiness  of  American  citizens,  the  descendants  of  ALL 
European  races,  are  promptly  checked! 

Not  before  we  banish  from  our  shores  the  colossal  machin- 
ery of  British  intrigues  and  untruths,  our  nation  will  become  in- 
dependent politically  as  well  as  intellectually. 

And  only  then  will  we  be  free! 


—    I2l    — 


CONTENTS 


PAce 

Preface     5 

The  Giant  Octopus 7 

England,  a  Destroyer  of  Nations 11 

England,  the  Originator  of  Spain's  Downfall — Eng- 
land, the  Destroyer  of  Holland's  Greatness — Eng- 
land, the  Arch-foe  of  France — England  Destroys 
Commerce  and  Fleet  of  Neutral  Denmark — Eng- 
land, the  Scourge  of  Irland — England,  the  Vampire 
of  India — England  as  Poisoner  of  the  Chinese 
Nation — England,  the  Suppressor  of  the  Free  Boers. 
England,   the  False  Friend   of  the    United    States. 

Germany's  wonderful  rise  and  success,  the  real  cause  for 

England's  present  war 36 

The  unholiest  conspiracy  in  history 50 

Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense 59 

The  tentacles  and  ink-sac  of  the  Giant  Octopus  and  how 

it  uses  them    62 

The  German  Emperor,  Lord  of  War  or  Prince  of  Peace?     67 

German  atrocities — ''made  in  England"    74 

German  militarism  or  British  Navalism,    which    is    the 

world's   menace?    86 

Does  America  need  a  third  war  for  independence?  ....      97 


» 


OUR  WASTEFUL  NATION. 

THE  STORY  OF  AMERICAN  PRODIGAUTY  AND  THE 
ABUSE  OF  OUR  NATIONAL  RESOURCES. 

By  RUDOLF  CRONAU. 

With  Illustrations.  Boards.  $   1.00  net. 

CONTENTS: 

The  Land  of  Inexhaustible  Resources — The  Destruction  of 
Our  Forests — The  Waste  of  Water — The  Waste  of  Soil — 
The  Waste  of  Our  Mineral  Resources — The  Extermination  of 
Our  Game,  Fur,  and  Great  Marine  Animals — Our  Vanishing 
Birds — Our  Decreasing  Fish  Supplies — The  Waste  of  Public 
Lands  and  Privileges — The  Waste  of  Public  Money  and 
of    Property — The    Waste    of    Human    Lives — Conclusion. 

One  of  the  weightiest  problem  before  our  nation  is  here 
treated  in  an  impressive  manner.  Based  upon  cold  facts 
the  book  shows  conclusively  that  our  nation  suffers,  by  sheer 
carelessness  and  wasteful  methods,  losses  amounting  to  many 
hundred  millions  of  dollars  annually. 

"This  volume  schuold  be  read,  pondered  and  re-read  by  every  individual 
in  America  who  has  reached  the  age  of  reasoning." 

Union,  New  Haven. 

"The  book  is  a  practical  little  sermon,  much  needed  in  this  period." 

San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

"There  are  but  134  pages  in  this  book,  but  within  that  limited  compass 
there  is  set  forth  the  most  terrific  impeachment  that  was  ever  laid  to  the 
charge  of  a  nation.  This  little  volume  should  be  scattered  over  the  country 
in  tens  of  thousands." 

Boston  Herald. 

"The  book  tells  a  story  that  is  astounding.  Some  of  the  descriptions  of 
the  past  are  told  in  figures  so  great  as  to  be  beyond  our  comprehenson." 

World  To-Day,  Chicago. 

"It  is  a  book,  that  every  person  should  be  compelled  to  learn  by  heart." 

Chicago  Daily  News. 

From  Author.  340  East  198th  Street.  New  York,  sent  postpaid 
on  receipt  of  price. 


p.  p 

Die  ergebenst  unterzeichnete  Verlagsbuchhandlung  beehrt 
sich,  Ihnen  hierdurch  die  erfreuliche  Mitteilung  zu  machen,  dass 
die  im  Jahre  1909  erschienene  Erstauflage  des  von  Herrn  Rudolf 
Cronau  in  New  York  verfassten  und  seitens  der  Universitat  Chi- 
cago preisgekronten  und  mit  220  lUustrationen  geschmiickten 
Werkes 

sowohl  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  wie  in  Deutschland  eine  so 
iiberaus  giinstige  Aufnahme  gefunden  hat,  dass  eine  Neuauflage 
notwendig  geworden  ist.  Diese  sollte  bis  zum  Herbst  des  ver- 
gangenen  Jahres  erscheinen,  und  zwar  nicht  nur  in  Text  und  Bil- 
derschmuck  wesentlich  erweitert,  sondern  auch  in  so  glanzender 
Ausstattung,  dass  das  Werk  in  jeder  Hinsicht  als  das 

Bt\fimit  Eljr^ttburlf  htB  i^utarlftuma  Amrrtkafi 

b'ezeichnet  werden  kann.  Der  unselige  Krieg  verhinderte  die 
Ausgabe  des  Werks  zu  der  festgesetzten  Zeit,  doch  hofft  die  Ver- 
lagshandlung,  dies  im  Laufe  dieses  Jahres  thun  zu  konnen. 

Um  die  notige  Hohe  der  Neuauflage  einigermassen  bestim^ 
men  zu  konnen,  gestattet  sich  die  Verlagshandlung  die  ergebene 
Anfrage,  ob  sie  auf  ein  Exemplar  dieser  neuen  Ausgabe  reflek- 
tieren.  Falls  Sie  Ihre  Bestellung  schon  jetzt  pufgeben,  werden 
Sie  das  in  einen  kiinstlerisch  vollendeten,  reich  mit  Golddruck 
versehenen  Einband  gebundene  Werk,  dessen  Ladenpreis  spater 
4  Dollars  betragen  wird,  sofort  nach  Erscheinen  zu  dent  Vorzugs- 
preis  von  3  Dollars  portofrei  zugeschickt  erhalten.  Wollen  Sie 
das  Buck  irgendzifelchen  in  der  alien  Heimat  zuriickgelassenen 
Angehbrigcn  und  Freunden  zum  Geschenk  machen,  so  Ubernimmt 
die  Verlagshandlung  zu  dem  gleichen  Betrag  auch  die  portofreie 
Zusendung  an  irgend  eine  Adresse  in  Deutschland, 

Der  Bequemlichkeit  und  Vereinfachung  der  Geschafte  wegen 
bitten  wir,  Bestellungen  an  den  Verfasser  des  Buches,  Herrn 
Rudolf  Cronau,  340  Bast  198.  Strasse,  New  York,  gelangen  zu 
lassen. 

In  vorziiglicher  Hochaclitung 

Die  Verlagsbuchhandlung  Dietrich  Reimer 

(Inhaber  Konsul  E.  Vohsen) 

Berlin,  Wilhelmstrasse  29. 


Wie  die  erste  Auflage  des  Werket 

irrt  Mlitiitxnhtttt  htvABtlfm  Egbgna  in  Amgrifea 

von  massgebenden  Personen  und  Zeitungen  der  alten 
und  neuen  Welt  beurteilt  wurde: 

„Indem  Cronau  sein  reich  illustriertes,  auf  sorgfaltigen  Studien 
b'eruhendes,  in  Stil  und  Darstellung  interessantes,  in  seinem  Ma- 
terial griindlich  und  wohlfundiertes  Buch  schrieb,  machte  er  zwei 
Volker  zu  seinen  Schuldnern." 

Professor  Benj.  Ide  Wheeler,  Prasident  der  Kali- 
fornischen  Universitat  zu  Berkeley,  Inhaber 
der  Berliner  Roosevelt-Pro fessur,  im  „Berli- 
ner  Tageblatt"  vom  10.  Nov.  1909. 

„Cronaus  Buch  ist  eine  nationale  Tat." 

„Iveipziger  Illustrierte  Zeitung." 

„Cronaus  Buch  gibt  uns  das  Recht,  uns  gleichberechtigt  neben 
unsere  Mitbiirger  englischen  Stammes  zu  stellen  und  fur  unsere 
Sprache  die  Anerkennung  und  Achtung  zu  verlangen,  die  ihr 
kraft  ihrer  Stellung  in  der  Weltliteratur  gebilhrt." 

„Mississippi  Blatter",  St.  Louis,  17.  Oktober  1909. 

„Bin  Born  des  Wissens  und  der  Aufkldrung  .  .  .  Einem  Ro- 
mane  gleich  fliesst  die  Sprache  dahin  und  der  Leser  wird  schon 
nach  den  ersten  Zeilen  von  der  packenden  Weise  ergriffen,  in 
der  das  Buch  geschrieben  ist.  Piir  die  Propaganda  des  Deutsch- 
Amerikanischen  Nationalbundes,  dessen  Mitbegriinder  Rudolf 
Cronau  ist,  hat  er  ein  Hilfsmittel  geschaffen,  das  unschdtzbar  ist." 
„Freie  Presse",  Brooklyn,  17.  Oktober J909. 

„Das  neueste  Werk  des  beruhmtesten  und  auf  beiden  Seiten 
des  Ozeans  gleich  bekannten  deutsch-amerikanischen  Schriftstel- 
lers  prasentiert  sich  in  der  vornehmsten  und  gediegensten  Form. 
Papier,  Druck  und  Illustrationen  sind  dem  vorziiglichen,  fiir  uns 
Deutschamerikaner  gar  nicht  hoch  genug  zu  schdtzenden  Inhalt 
angepassi.  Lange  hat  man  vergeblich  auf  einen  Geschichtsschrei- 
ber  gewartet,  der  die  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  in  Amerika  von 
ihrem  ersten  An  fang  bis  heute  niederschrieb.  Rudolf  Cronau  hat 
mit  seinem  neuen  griindlichen  und  vorziiglichen  Werk  eine  Ar- 
beit vollbrachtj  die  das  hbchste  Lob  verdicnt." 

„Iowa  Reform",  Davenport,  18.  Oktober  1909. 


„Bin  Prarhtwerk  in  jeder  Hinsicht,  das  mehr  als  irgend  etw 
anderes  geeignet  ist  und  dazu  dienen  sollte,  die  Deutschen  unser 
Landes,  wie  audi  ihre  Nachkommen,  mit  gerechtem  Stolz  auf  i 
re  Ahstammiing  zu  erfUllen.  Darum  sollte  es  in  keinem  dei" 
schen  Heim  fehlen." 

^Express  und  Westbote",  Columbus,  Ohio,  26.  Okt.  1909. 

„Auch  andere  hervorragende  Deutschamerikaner  haben  si< 
der  Aufgabe  gewidmet,  ein  Lebensbild  des  deutschen  Element 
der  Vereinigten  Staaten  zu  entwerfen,  aber  in  so  umfassend 
Darstcllung  haben  zvir  noch  kein  Werk  gehaht,  wie  es  dieses  Bui 
von  Rudolf  Cronau  den  Deutschen  hringt." 

„Milwaukee  Herold",  Oktober  1909. 

„Jede  Seite  dieses  vortrefflichen  und  in  seiner  Art  einzig^ 
Werkes  ist,  wenn  man  sehr  bescheiden  sprechen  will,  hochst  l 
senswert/' 

„Chicago  Freie  Presse  und  Daheim",  18.  Oktober  1909. 

„Aus  innerster  Neigung,  mit  wahrer  Lust  und  Liebe  geschri 
ben,  nichts  Wesentliches  unberiicksichtigt  lassend,  ist  Crona 
Buch  als  Geschichtswerk  einzig  und  zugleich  ein  SchmuckstU 
fiir  jedes  deutsche  Heim." 

„Davenport  Demokrat",  12.  Oktober  1909. 

„Ein  Prachtwerk,  in  dem  mit  staunenswertem  Sammeleifer  ; 
les  zusammengetragen  und  in  anziehender  Weise  dargestellt  i 
was  deutscher  Fleiss,  deutsche  Opferwilligkeit,  deutscher  Kun: 
sinn  fiir  Amerika  getan  haben.  Jedes  offentliche  Lesezimmi 
jede  Bibliothek,  jedes  deutsche  Heim  sollte  dies  Buch  zur  Bi 
sicht,  Unterhaltung  und  Belehrung  fiir  Mitglieder  und  Besuch 
anschaffen.  Wer  es  liest,  wird  darin  einen  Schatz  des  Wisser 
werten  finden,  auf  das  hinzuweisen  den  Deutschamerikaner  n 
Stolz  erfiillen  muss." 

„Buffalo  Demokrat",  23.  Oktober  1909. 

„Wir  stehen  iiberrascht  vor  den  Erfolgen  der  Deutschen 
Amerika,  die  uns  in  Cronaus  Buch  wie  in  einem  hellen  Spie^ 
entgegenstrahlen." 

„Literarischer  Handweiser  f.  d.  Katholiken  deutsch 
Zunge",  Miinster  in  Westfalen,  25.  Oktober   1909. 

„Jeder  Deutsche  sollte  sich  so  friih  wie  moglich  Cronaus  wu 
derbar  fesselnd  geschriebenes  Buch  verschaf fen.  Fiir  die  Jugei 
ist  es  eine  Quelle  der  Begeisterung,  fiir  den  gereiften  Mensch 
ein  hoher  Genuss." 

„Westliche  Post",  St.  Louis,  Dezember  1912. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


ATi    171934 


FEB!  '66E 


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JAN  23*66-4  PM 


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MAR   S4  19^3       .^n 


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FEB    7  1955 


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LD  21-100to-7,'33 


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6€7503 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 

